May 2012 Blog Posts (15)

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…

An unseasonably early tornado season in the U.S. Midwest has blown a potentially big black cutworm problem to southern Ontario farms. 

Scientific Name

Agrotis ipsilon

Identification

• Black cutworm larvae are greyish-black with a paler…

By Nathan Stevens

May 11, 2012

 

Canadian trade policy is one of the more controversial issues that Ontario farmers live with every day. There are segments of Ontario agriculture that would benefit from more open trade and segments that would not reap the same rewards. A recent trade policy session held by the George Morris Centre brought in several experts on the intricacies of international trade deals and the challenges and…

The Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency, Ontario Goat, along with the Canadian Sheep Federation, Canadian Sheep Breeders Association and the Canadian Livestock Genetics Association, would like to express their collective concern over the 41 missing Shropshire sheep.

On April 2, 2012, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency notified the public of a breach of quarantine in relation to scrapie control measures taking place in Trent Hills, Ontario. 41 sheep belonging to Montana Jones were slated…

My corn is planted and on its way up!  It was none too warm on the weekend while I sat on my open air tractor planting two fields of corn.  The cold rain on Monday gave me a bit to worry about, daytime highs of 13C are not particularly desirable, but the heat has shown up and the corn seed has noticed.  Only5 days in the ground and I have an up shoot. The forecast has some reasonable temperatures called for, so I hope to see it out of the ground by the end of next week.

I have been…