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PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY — You could say it’s the ‘big cheese.’ It’s also the big winner of the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence.

Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company, Eastern Ontario’s largest manufacturer of artisan cheese from goat and sheep milk, was announced as the $100,000 top prize recipient April 6.

Lauded for its state-of-the-art facility’s solar, wind and geothermal technologies that have helped reduce its energy consumption by 60 per cent, the company runs Canada’s only dairy certified as Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

The sustainability theme is carried throughout the entire enterprise, from environmentally friendly waste processing to green cleaning agents and biodegradable packaging. The dairy has even built subterranean caves for aging cheese to provide a cool environment with little energy input.

Having also collected other awards for its green buildings and scrumptious product, Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Company was one of two firms recognized for innovation during the Premier’s Summit on Agri-Food. The other was Hillside Gardens Limited of Simcoe County, which collected the Minister’s Award of $50,000 for implementing an electronic "gate-to-plate" traceability program.

Now in its third year, the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence is a $2.5-million, five-year program established to recognize innovators contributing to the success of Ontario’s agri-food sector.

The innovations of 55 regional winners, each getting $5,000, will be announced at regional award ceremonies this spring.

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