We should be in the season of optimism. We should be looking at the opportunities that can be found in the Rainy River District. We should be celebrating the differences between being Canadian and being American. Sometimes all those items are hard to understand. Sometimes the best ideas can be stolen and reused in a new manner.
As I look at the west end of the district, I am seeing more land being developed to grow barley, soybeans, corn, oats and wheat. It was not so long ago that the idea of being grain farmers in the district was a novel idea. Today it is a reality. Millions have been poured into the land.
Almost thirty years ago, I wrote a column that spoke of us establishing an oil-based industry in our community using the fibre and oils found in our forests to transform those raw materials to some sort of gasoline or aviation fuel. Our kraft mill at the time was already producing “Tall oil” for paint as a byproduct of making kraft for paper. Tall Oil is also used for making hand soap and printing inks. It may become a reality, and the new industry will provide years of employment in the district.
In another column, I had researched lamb and goat production in both Africa and Australia. One of the interesting items that I learned was just as wineries advertised the “bench” that produced grapes and sold premium wines from those benches, sheep farmers in Australia and goat farmers in South Africa were doing the same promoting their own meats from their farms. It was adding value and prestige to the livestock they were raising. We now see several district farms adopting those ideas and selling their meats from the farm gate and making their products more prestigious.
One of the issues facing seniors in the district is the need to downsize their housing needs. In most communities, 55 Plus housing is available. Sometimes it is with condominiums and other times it is created as rental properties. Dryden will shortly have 4 multiple unit buildings built for 55 Plus seniors. Construction is likely to begin on a 24-unit complex in Fort Frances this year and the demand by interested people could see a second unit rising within a short period of time
That will have an immediate impact on Fort Frances. Housing will become available and the housing shortage in the community will be addressed. Part of attracting professionals to Fort Frances and the district is the lack of housing. The 55 Plus units will help solve that problem. Similar types of private senior’s housing have been built across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
What other great ideas can be reused and improved upon in the district? What other opportunities exist?
