Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Time to explore rural Vietnam

Today was an exciting day! We headed north out of the bustling, vibrant city of Ho Chi Minh and headed towards the Cu Chi region. We were all looking forward to seeing a more rural part of Vietnam. Our travels today took us to a rubber plantation, a hi-tech research park, a worm and cow farm (we'll explain that connection in a bit) and then finished off our day with a history lesson about the Vietnam war while exploring the Cu Chi tunnels.

Our first stop was a 400 ha rubber plantation. Rubber 'milk' is harvested 6 months of the year and approximately 100 people work at this plantation. Currently the price for rubber is very low (50 cents/L) and so many farms are being converted to organic vegetable farms. In Vietnam, all land is leased from the government, typically on 20-year leases.

Next, we made a quick stop at the hi-tech agricultural park. The park consists of an 88 ha property with many greenhouses containing technology from Israel. One goal of the park is to train farmers how to produce food organically. The demand for organic food is also increasing in Vietnam.

After the park visit, we met a couple who run a vermiculture farm, a dairy farm and a shoe factory. The husband manages the shoe factory and the wife manages the farm enterprises. Two years ago, the couple found an innovative way to utilize the dairy manure for an additional source of income. Worms and dairy manure are combined to produce compost for the rubber tree plantations and for neighbouring organic farms. The worms are also harvested regularly for two main reasons. One, the worms are dehydrated and the reconstituted with water and used as a foliar product on the rubber trees to prevent disease. Two, the worms are used as a protein source/supplement for chickens, cows and fish.

The vermiculture farm was set up in between rows of rubber trees on approximately 2 ha. Interestingly, the couple rents the land on a 2-year contract from the renter of the rubber plantation. Next stop was the dairy farm which consisted of 20 dairy cows, milked twice a day at 5 am and 4 pm. Average milk production is about 200 L of milk per day at this farm.

The afternoon was spent learning more about the Vietnam war and the Cu Chi tunnels. This elaborate web of tunnels, amongst many other things, showcased the resilience and resourcefulness of the Vietnamese people. Despite the fact that many Vietnamese and Americans were once enemies, today these two countries have strong ties.


Tomorrow we head to Da Lat!

Views: 339

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Poultry service expands into Manitoba

A company that provides poultry catching and handling services will expand into Manitoba. Under the agreement, Elite Services (Elite) will assume full responsibility for poultry services operations previously carried out by Unity Catchers (Unity). Elite spokesperson Chris Vanrietschoten said the company has built its reputation over the past 20 years by focusing on professionalism, animal welfare, and operational excellence. “Our entry into Manitoba reflects our long-term commitment to supporting poultry producers across Western Canada with consistent, high-quality services,” he said. As part of the agreement, Unity will become a shareholder in Elite’s Manitoba operations, continuing with local representation while benefiting from the scale and stability of Elite’s platform. Customers will not be affected by the transition with existing crews and service commitments continuing without disruption. Elite will bring additional resources, systems, and expertise to ensure reliable, saf

The latest in wheat cluster research highlights and upcoming webinars.

Research projects with the Canadian National Wheat Cluster continue to make progress and we are happy to share some specific project updates.  In a recent publication Dr. Firdissa Bokore's Cluster research was profiled, highlighting his work developing molecular markers to speed up the breeding process for new wheat varieties. Some of the top wheat varieties producers use today have come from technological tools provided by Dr. Bokore's team, including AAC Frontier and AAC Oakman.   Save the date and register! Our next Cluster webinar focused on advancements in Canadian Eastern Soft Red Winter and Canadian Eastern Hard Red Winter wheat will explore Dr. Helen Booker and Dr. Michel McElroy's research into enhancing breeding efforts for these two wheat classes. Webinar information and registration links are below. Stay tuned for more great webinars, reports and events related to the Wheat Cluster, and don't forget to follow us on social media. Dr. Firdissa Bokore's research, specific

Unwinding the Fiber in Finishing Diets

High-grain feedlot finishing diets improve feed conversion efficiency and produce high-quality, well-marbled beef. Corn has traditionally been the dominant feed grain in central and eastern Canada and the U.S., while barley is more common in western Canada. The structure of corn starch means that it will generally be digested more slowly than barley. Corn is usually steam-rolled to level the playing field in terms of digestibility and animal performance, while simpler and less costly dry rolling is adequate for barley. Corn has become more common in western Canadian finishing diets in recent years due to decreasing barley acres, increasing corn acres and corn imports. This has led some feedlots to install steam-rollers for corn. Research is underway to learn if steam-rolling improves digestibility and animal performance for barley-based diets. High-grain diets must be managed carefully to avoid abnormal feeding behavior, rumen acidosis and liver abscesses that can negatively affect an

Map: Well Below Normal September Rainfall for Ontario

After ramping up sharply in August, abnormal dryness and drought across southern Ontario did not get any better in September. 

Ontario Investing $41 Million in Agricultural Research Infrastructure

The Ontario government is investing more than $41 million over the next four years to build and revitalize Agricultural Research and Innovation Ontario (ARIO) infrastructure. 

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service