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January 2020 Blog Posts (5)

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Visiting a citrus cooperative

AALP class 17 left Seville the morning of January 15 heading to Sunaran Citrus Coop near the town of Palma De Rio. We were greeted by our tour guide Rosa for an informative tour of one of the biggest citrus coops in Spain. The coop consists of 98-100 members, all of which are farmer members.

The coop has 1500 acres of land growing a wide variety of orange variety’s with the main being “Salustiana” which is a juice press variety. Besides oranges they also do grapefruits with the main…

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Added by AALP on January 16, 2020 at 4:00am — No Comments

Picking strawberries in January

Day 7 of AALP Class 17 IST contintued with one of the highlights so far on the trip, a fruit cooperative named Cuna De Platero. We were lucky enough to be taken on a tour of their greenhouses where they allowed to try some of the different varieties of strawberries that they grow.  The greenhouses are once again made with plastic and are of similar style to our previous visits this trip. They have a cooperative structure, which is something we have come to find is very common here in Spain.…

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Added by AALP on January 14, 2020 at 4:00am — No Comments

Exploring traditional and modern agriculture in Spain

Jan 12 - Sunday

Our day began leaving the sunny Mediterranean coast and travelling to the small rural village of Alameda. We visited the Centre Tematico del campo Andaluz. This was a museum dedicated to teaching people about the past farming practices and traditions. We were met by a museum guide, and two local farmers, a father and son – Antonio Sr. and Antonio Jr. Antonio Sr. was 90 years old and had, in his lifetime, farmed in the traditional way which, for olive oil production,…

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Added by AALP on January 13, 2020 at 7:00am — No Comments

Ag and city tours make up our first few days in Spain

The AALP Class left the beautiful Toledo to head to a feedlot outside the city. We were toured around a feedlot that is part of a cooperative that consists of 9,500 head of cattle. Our host, who is the president of the cooperative, has two feedlots and 600 hectares of crop land. It was interesting to learn that the cooperative’s major export market outside of Spain are Lebanon, Turkey and Israel. These destinations have particularly stringent standards for how the beef must be treated and…

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Added by AALP on January 10, 2020 at 11:00am — No Comments

AALP Class 17 leaves for Spain

Sadly, one class member, Bernice Weber Passchier, is ill and was unable to join us for our rescheduled International Study Tour. The rest of AALP Class 17 met at Pearson airport and boarded the plane to Philadelphia; after a short layover we were on an overnight flight to Madrid, Spain. 

Once we landed, we met up with Rafa, our bus driver, and Ismael, our tour guide. We were happy to learn that Ismael had an agricultural background and has been doing ag-focused tours for the last five…

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Added by AALP on January 9, 2020 at 11:00am — No Comments

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

Increased U.S. Refinery Exemptions May Have Implications for Canola

The American Soybean Association (ASA) is warning that a sharp increase in small refinery exemptions under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard could significantly weaken domestic soybean oil demand, with potential implications extending into the canola market. In a new release Tuesday, ASA said recent reports suggest exemptions for the 2025 RFS compliance year could exceed 1.8 billion Renewable Identification Number credits under a revised methodology now being considered. That would be nearly double the level the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency assumed when it finalized its 2026-27 Renewable Volume Obligation rule. The ASA said such a large increase in exemptions could wipe out roughly 500 million gallons of biomass-based diesel demand and cost U.S. soybean farmers about US$1 billion in lost revenue. The issue is important for Canadian canola markets because Chicago soyoil prices are widely regarded as a leading price driver and directional indicator for canola oil and canola

Spring Wheat Harvest Accelerates Past Halfway Mark

The U.S. spring wheat harvest accelerated sharply this past week, while crop condition ratings slipped slightly. Monday’s USDA crop progress report pegged the national spring wheat harvest at 62% complete as of Sunday, up 21 points from a week earlier. Progress was also well ahead of the 51% harvested at the same point last year and the five-year average of 52%. South Dakota remained furthest along, with 91% of its spring wheat crop harvested, up from 81% a week earlier and ahead of the 85% average. Minnesota reached 78% complete, up from 63%. North Dakota, the largest U.S. spring wheat-producing state, made strong progress as well, with 56% of the crop harvested, up from 37% the previous week and ahead of the five-year average of 40%. Montana harvest reached 55%, nearly doubling from 28% a week earlier, although progress remained slightly behind the 60% average. Meanwhile, national spring wheat condition ratings weakened modestly. The USDA rated 51% of the crop good to excellent

Manitoba Harvest Reaches 4% as Drier Weather Helps Fieldwork

Manitoba’s harvest advanced over the past week as drier conditions allowed producers to make progress in winter cereals, peas and early spring grains, although activity remains limited in several regions. Tuesday's weekly crop report showed about 4% of the province’s major crops had been harvested as of Monday. The Central region was furthest along at 9%, followed by the Eastern region at 5%. The Southwest and Interlake were each 2% complete, while the Northwest was at just 1%. Winter wheat and fall rye harvest were each 66% complete provincially. Progress reached 99% in the Central region, while winter wheat was 95% harvested in the Eastern region. Spring wheat, barley and oats were each 7% harvested across Manitoba, while field pea harvest had reached 24%. Canola harvest was just getting underway at 2%, concentrated in the Central region. Crop development continues to advance toward maturity. Spring cereals are generally in the hard dough stage or moving into harvest, with desi

Canadian crops depend on honey bees, but disease and environmental stressors are putting them at risk

Honey bees may be best known for making honey, but they also play a vital role in Canadian agriculture, acting as pollinators for important crops like hybrid canola, sunflowers and berries. Their work supports billions of dollars in agricultural production and economic activity each year. The health of the Western honey bee (Apis Mellifera) is under threat from disease and many environmental stressors, including a rapidly changing climate.  Dr. Nuria Morfin, assistant professor in entomology in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, has been awarded a new Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grant to study how the community of microbes interact with the honey bee to cause disease.  “It’s estimated that honey bee colonies contribute about $7 billion annually to the Canadian economy through pollinating important crops like hybrid canola,” says Morfin. “We need to better understand how stressors interact and affect honey bee health and productivit

Canada announces retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.

The trade war between Canada and the U.S. continues to escalate.

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