All Blog Posts

By Nathan Stevens

June 22, 2012

 

The need for an Ontario or Canadian food strategy has been emerging in the agricultural and health communities. Sustain Ontario is one of the groups that is moving ahead in developing ideas around an Ontario Food and Nutrition Strategy. Their efforts tie agriculture and food production to health and environmental improvement.  A recent meeting held by Sustain Ontario focused on three key strategic…

Yes the Canadian census confirms I am a young farmer and by a long shot.  I have been reading some of the stats to learn that the average age of a farmer in Ontario is up to 54 yrs.  I have almost 2 decades to go through before I get there.  Thinking back on how much I have seen farming change over the years so far, i get the feeling I am in for a shock before I make the "average" age.  Thats all good, its exciting times.  

I as other farmers around here, well if you take twitter as…

Farmers ready to rally and support the annual, horticulture trade show.

Simcoe, ON

(June 17, 2012) – Norfolk County, the predominant fruit and vegetable community, is home to the annual fruit & veg trade show – Canada’s Fruit & Veg Tech X-Change.…

Talk about 'making hay while the sun shines'. Here's a short video I shot on Saturday June 16th 2012 of my nephew Ryan baling hay with his New Holland 658 hay baler. The grass feed is a mixture of alfalfa, red clover and timothy and as such will make excellent feed for the growing numbers of cows on their feedlots.

I can remember harvesting the hay in this field in the 1970s and 80s - we used to walk behind the tractor and wagon and pitch 80 lbs bales onto the wagon…

By Nathan Stevens

June 15, 2012

 

The federal and provincial governments are working on Growing Forward 2, the five-year policy framework for the agriculture and agri-food sector. Farmers, farm organizations and commodity groups across the country are focused on influencing the outcome of the framework. A realistic assessment of the world around us today points to this agreement featuring harder choices than those made in the original…

The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario is placing a strong emphasis on the importance of agricultural education. Earlier this year the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario announced its scholarship program for students attending post-secondary courses in agricultural studies. Continuing with that direction, CFFO has sponsored a bus full of school children to visit the Ag Museum in Ottawa. Good education involves teaching the history of the…

OMAFRA information - Armyworm are Marching  - http://fieldcropnews.com/2012/06/armyworm-are-marching/

bzacres5:02am via Photos on iOS…

Animal welfare is an issue that is gaining in importance for livestock farmers across North America .There are few people more influential in the area of reasonable animal welfare improvements than Dr. Temple Grandin. I recall her sharing her thoughts at a meeting back in 2006 about the future of animal handling and animal welfare. Today, she is calling on farmers to use social media to influence the public discourse on animal welfare in North America, and the strides taken since the…

Each class of the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP) includes two study tours as part of the curriculum – one in North America, and one involving international travel. These study tours give participants the opportunity to gain an even broader perspective and understanding of regional/national/ international issues and their interrelationships.

AALP Class…

It is starting out to be an exciting season.  The weather has been cooperating with my work schedule and so far my decisions have resulted in planting success.  The warm weather has brought Soybeans out of the ground after about a week.  Most of my Soys are planted on land that was plowed last year, and this ground is holding moisture very well.  I had to work the ground…

By Nathan Stevens

May 25, 2012

 

Proponents of Canadian food for Canadians got a boost last week as the Federal Government announced that the Canada Brand has been expanded to include a domestic component. This is a positive step forward in market-oriented ways to enhance farmer’s opportunities both domestically and abroad.

 

The Canada Brand has been in existence for a number of years promoting the…

By Nathan Stevens

May 18, 2012

 

The provincial government is conducting a review of the Aggregate Resources Act. This is an important piece of legislation for the agriculture sector due to competition for land within the rural countryside. The Christian Farmers submitted comments reflecting the long-term balance needed between aggregates and farmland.

 

In the big picture, the CFFO recognizes that aggregate…

Robert Herjavec shares how the ability to recognize opportunity and a sense of ``humble arrogance`` have contributed to his success.

Jake's video from YouTube.

Some black bears did launch an attack on of our remote beeyards last week! 

This is what bear damage looks like, and it could have been a lot worse. The total loss was only four frames of brood. And that's because this beeyard, like all of our locations in southern Ontario, is protected by a heavy duty solar fencer.

Its unlikely the hive blew over in the wind - in the…