Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

AALP's Blog – February 2015 Archive (11)

Day 10: Back to school

Day 10 started with boarding the bus for an hour trip to an Ag School in Venado Tuerto (One Eyed Deer).  The name of the school was Escuela Agricola and it was a private school with students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 established in 1968. The school sits on…

Continue

Added by AALP on February 28, 2015 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Day 9: Farm tours and good eats!

Today we headed northwest out of Buenos Aires to the Area of Pergamino... and it wasn’t long before the land opened up into soybean, corn, cattle and horses. It’s safe to say this was a welcome sight for all of us!

Our first stop was at a machinery shed in Cabana El Desafio. This mid-sized farm consists of 1000 ha of soybean, corn, wheat and specialty green peas and…

Continue

Added by AALP on February 26, 2015 at 3:08am — No Comments

Day 8: Arriving in Argentina

On Sunday we ended our time in Chile and Argentina welcomed us. It was also the time to say goodbye to our new Atlantic friends and our wonderful guide Andres and driver Horatio. 

On our way to the airport Kenny Graham, one of our new Atlantic friends, gave a wonderful farewell by commenting about what he learned about each AALPer. It was an extremely thoughtful send…

Continue

Added by AALP on February 24, 2015 at 8:42am — No Comments

Day 7: Making memories (and wine!) at Montgras Estate

We started the day with the anticipation of our last stop of the day - wine tasting at Montgras Estates! Alas we had a few stops before getting to the winery. 

Our first stop was with a visit with a small vegetable and fruit producer. Luis Carrasco Saldana is a forward-thinking farmer who took the initiative three years ago to…

Continue

Added by AALP on February 22, 2015 at 7:06am — No Comments

Day 6: Agricultural tours and a rare rain

Our class started the day with a goal - to make it through six stops and return at the end of the day with all the windows on the bus!

After a short drive…

Continue

Added by AALP on February 21, 2015 at 10:50am — No Comments

Day 5: Getting a taste of the Chilean fruit & vegetable basket

Today's International Study Tour got off to an early start with a visit to Lo Valledor Wholesale Market in Santiago.  Similar to the Ontario Food Terminal, Lo Valledor trades about 90% of the fruits and vegetables in Chile, with daily transactions totalling over $5 million US dollars. The most unique product that is sold is dried seaweed.

We then travelled to the…

Continue

Added by AALP on February 21, 2015 at 10:22am — No Comments

Day 4: A Chilean Education

We started off day four of our International Study Tour learning about the Chilean economy at Scotiabank.  Chile has the fifth largest economy in Latin America and has seen significant growth in their economy over the last 30 years.  The Canadian Dollar and the Chilean Peso react to the world economy in a similar fashion; when one appreciates the other tends to appreciate as…

Continue

Added by AALP on February 18, 2015 at 11:35am — No Comments

Day 3: Visit to the Canadian Embassy and more

Our morning began with a great breakfast at the hotel followed by a speaker from ASOEX which is the Chilean Association of Fruit Exports. As a not for profit organization, they facilitate the export process, stimulate research and innovation and encourage industry training by defending the sectors interests, managing agreements, administration of inspection…

Continue

Added by AALP on February 18, 2015 at 11:21am — No Comments

Day 2: Casablanca Valley in Chile



Today we began our adventure with a visit to a Chilean dairy farm in the Casa Blanca Valley. The farm is home to a 1200 head milking cow herd and the farmer is working to grow the herd to 1800. The farm owner is a retired professor of plant physiology and now manages about 200 employees. 40 of these employees work full-time at the dairy, milking 23 hours…

Continue

Added by AALP on February 17, 2015 at 4:33am — No Comments

Day 1: We made it!

AALP Class 15 and our friends from the Atlantic Agricultural Leadership Program secured the farms at home, wrapped up last minute projects, said goodbye to loved ones and battled vicious winter weather to descend on Terminal 1, excited - and maybe a little nervous - to kick off our grand adventure.

While some caught fitful sleep and others binge…

Continue

Added by AALP on February 17, 2015 at 4:33am — No Comments

And they're off! Class 15's International Study Tour is February 14 to March 1, 2015

Class 15 departs on February 15, 2015 for their International Study Tour themed “Political, Economic and Cultural Comparisons”. The class will be touring Chile and Argentina and will return on March 1, 2015.

Here are some of their destinations:

  • Chile
    • Excursion to vegetable and dairy farms Valparaiso and Pacific Coast
    • Tour of the city of Santiago and visit to the Canadian Embassy
    • Presentations from agricultural organizations including Fundacion…
Continue

Added by AALP on February 12, 2015 at 6:05am — No Comments

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

Canadian Feedstocks Eligible Under 45Z Credit

Eligible feedstocks will include those grown in Canada under newly proposed rules for the U.S. clean fuel production credit, a development that could have significant implications for North American biofuel markets and Canadian oilseed producers. The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday released proposed regulations outlining how domestic producers can qualify for and calculate the clean fuel production credit, commonly known as the 45Z credit. The guidance reflects changes made under last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill and is intended to provide greater clarity and certainty for fuel producers navigating the program. The clean fuel production credit applies to clean transportation fuels produced in the U.S. after Dec. 31, 2024, and sold by Dec. 31, 2029. To claim the credit, producers must be registered with the IRS and comply with detailed certification, emissions accounting, and reporting requirements set out in the proposal. Among the mos

Beef Industry Groups Warn on Research Cutbacks

Canada’s beef industry is warning federal research cuts could undermine competitiveness, food safety, and export growth for years to come. The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) and the Beef Cattle Research Council (BCRC) said in a joint statement Tuesday that announced reductions at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the planned closures of research facilities in Nappan, N.S., Quebec City, and Lacombe, Alta., will have far-reaching consequences for cattle producers, consumers, and Canada’s broader agri-food economy. While acknowledging federal fiscal pressures, the groups argue the loss of specialized public research capacity is shortsighted and difficult to reverse. The groups are urging AAFC to transfer key programs and researchers to other institutions if closures proceed, and to refund industry investments where projects are cancelled mid-stream. Over the past decade, beef producers have increased their own research funding by more than 600%, viewing innovation as essential

How the County of Newell Took Over CDC South and Protected Alberta’s Irrigated Research Hub

Once at risk of being lost, the Crop Diversification Centre South is being rebuilt through a county-led cost-recovery model, new leases, and growing interest from Alberta researchers. When the Government of Alberta exited direct agricultural research in 2019, few places felt the impact more sharply than the historic Crop Diversification Centre (CDC) South near Brooks. Long regarded as a cornerstone of irrigated crop and horticulture research, the facility suddenly found itself with only seven researchers to manage hundreds of acres, a complex of aging buildings — and no roadmap for the future. “We started getting complaints about weeds four feet tall,” recalls Candace Woods, project coordinator for the CDC South revitalization project. Woods had worked at the centre from 2015 until being laid off during the government transition. When she returned years later, she found a facility at real risk of being lost. “There wasn’t a long-term plan,” she says. “The County saw that if nobody

Empire shutters e-commerce facilities in Alberta

Empire Company Limited and its subsidiary Sobeys Inc have announced the immediate closure of its Alberta e-commerce facilities due to financial underperformance of its e-commerce network. The facilities comprise a customer fulfillment centre (CFC) in the Calgary area and a smaller support facility in Edmonton. In addition, the company is pausing development of a CFC in the Vancouver area. Empire will continue to support customers in Western Canada who prefer to shop online through its third-party partnerships. "We remain highly committed to grocery e-commerce in Canada and on continuing to make online shopping more convenient for our customers, while delivering immediate bottom-line improvements to our e-commerce business," said Pierre St-Laurent, president & CEO, Empire who assumed the role in November, 2025.  Empire will continue to serve customers in Ontario and Québec through its Voilà banner, supported by its existing CFCs in the Greater Toronto and Montreal areas. Those operat

Canadian farmers wanted for mental health survey

It will ask participants questions like how often they’ve felt sad, down or depressed in the last two weeks.

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service