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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

Soybean Fungicide Decisions

As soybean crops move into flowering, questions are sure to be raised about whether fungicide applications are needed. In anticipation, let’s take a closer look at the potential disease threats and what Manitoba On-Farm Network research has told us. What Should We Be Concerned About? Foliar diseases infecting soybeans in Manitoba typically occur at low severity levels and are not expected to impact yield most years. These usually include bacterial blight, downy mildew and Septoria brown spot. Stem diseases generally have a greater impact on yield. White mould: infections begin at nodes along the main stem. Wilted plants may be spotted from afar, within a humid canopy may find white mycelial growth and black sclerotia bodies later in the season. This disease is the main target of fungicide applications. Cool, wet conditions throughout July and August favour white mould. For every 10% increase in the percent of plants infected with white mould, 2-5 bu/ac of yield are lost in soybeans.

Fungicide Decision Tool for Managing Mycosphaerella Blight in Field Peas

When your peas have reached V10 (10th node stage), it is an ideal time to start scouting each field to evaluate if a fungicide application to manage Mycosphaerella blight is warranted. Continue scouting for symptoms from V10 (10th true node) to R2 (beginning bloom), during mid-June to late July. Mycosphaerella (Ascochyta) blight is the most widespread and economically damaging foliar disease of Manitoba field peas. Peas are the single host crop of Mycosphaerella but it can be managed by foliar fungicide. This pathogen can be stubble-, air-, soil- and seed-borne. Spores can travel long distances by air, meaning there is a disease risk even in fields where peas have not been grown previously. The impact of disease severity on yield will depend on how early the disease sets in and how quickly it progresses into the upper crop canopy. Early infections during the bloom to early/mid-pod stages cause the most damage if left untreated. Use this fungicide decision worksheet when scouting to

Manitoba pork, canola producers hold steady amid heavy tariffs

A slab of back bacon from Natural Raised Pork comes with a waitlist. Ian Smith points to tariffs. Since the United States placed levies on imports from Canada, Manitobans have increasingly been calling Smith about his farm near Argyle, some 40 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. “There’s more people wanting to support local and I’m one of few people that do what I’m doing,” said Smith, 62. He estimates 90 per cent of his pork products are bought by Manitoba households; the latter goes to a packing plant. Last year, it was a 50-50 split. Smith works alone, hustling to meet the four-to-six week waitlist that’s accumulated. He keeps hundreds of feeder pigs and a couple dozen sows; it’s a relatively small operation, he noted. “If there’s any mistakes to be made, there’s only one person to blame and that’s me,” he said with a laugh. Smith doesn’t export to China — so he’s shielded from that nation’s levies still hanging over the Canadian industry.

KAP Welcomes Appointment of New U.S. Trade Representative

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) welcomes the appointment of Richard Madan as Manitoba’s new trade representative to the United States. “We commend Premier Kinew and Minister Moses for making Manitoba’s voice a priority in Washington, D.C.,” said KAP President Jill Verwey. “We look forward to working with Mr. Madan to advance the interests of Manitoba farmers and the agricultural industry, ensuring these interests are at the forefront of his work as he forges stronger relationships with American policymakers and trade officials.” Agriculture is an important part of Manitoba’s economy, with $4.29 billion in agri-food exports to the U.S. alone in 2024, and KAP sees the new presence in Washington as instrumental in fostering strategic relationships with key states that are important to our trade interests. “The U.S. is Manitoba’s largest agri-food export destination and is one of Manitoba’s key trading partners on the international stage,” added KAP General Manager Colin Hornby. “

2025 Annual General Meeting

On Wednesday, June 18th, the Ontario Farmland Trust hosted its Annual General Meeting. The meeting was held hybrid again this year, with members and friends joining both virtually and in person.

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