Ontario Agriculture

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October 2009 Blog Posts (7)

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Pure profit: $830,000 in two weeks selling seed potatoes

Warning: Real potato farmers should stop reading here. This might ruin your week. A San Francisco-based company just cleared $830,000 US in two weeks by selling seed potatoes. The potatoes are virtual but the money is very, very real. Zynga is a developer of apps for Facebook and the iPhone. One of their biggest hits is... get this... a game about farming. Farmville lets users own and manage a virtual farm. Apparently it's very addictive. At least, the 20 million users who are currently playing… Continue

Added by Andrew Douglas on October 30, 2009 at 10:34am — 2 Comments

Interest in farming is a great communications opportunity

The world’s food needs are under the microscope and we hear near-daily pleas from groups such as the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization for greater investment in feeding hungry people. So why are development agencies such as USC Canada dedicating scarce resources to hackneyed anti-corporate promotions such as this latest poll?



That’s what I’m pondering in this week’s… Continue

Added by Owen Roberts on October 23, 2009 at 10:51am — 1 Comment

I guess nightshade doesn't get frost bite

The sight of nightshade's purplish/black berries in a "food grade" soybean crop is every producer's worst nightmare. They stain the seed and dramatically reduce the value of the crop. In theory, you would kill uncontrolled nightshade prior to harvest with either a herbicide (i.e. Reglone, glyphosate) or mother nature (i.e. a frost), the berries would drop to the ground, never go through the combine and the seed would be left unstained. Unfortunately this is a theory, and reality shows us… Continue

Added by Mike Cowbrough on October 20, 2009 at 7:09am — 3 Comments

Canadian Farm Land Values Increased 2.9% during first half of 2009.

Farm Credit Canada’s semi-annual land value survey for the period Jan. 1 to June 30, 2009,

By Farms.com Editors

The average value of Canadian farmland increased 2.9 per cent during the first six months of 2009, following increases of 5.6 and 5.8 per cent in the previous two reporting periods.

Farmland values increased in most provinces. New Brunswick experienced the highest increase at 5.6 per cent, followed by Manitoba, with an increase of 5.5 per cent.

Two provinces… Continue

Added by Frank Borszcz on October 20, 2009 at 5:09am — No Comments

Finding Efficiency Through Trade Policy Change

“Give me a level playing field and we can compete with the world’s best”



I heard this quote last September 22nd at a meeting for hog farmers set up by Ontario Pork. It was one statement that I classed as optimism in a room that was overwhelmingly negative. I can completely understand why negativity abounded at this meeting, every farmer in that room faces a very uncertain future but I want to focus on the positive.

While our farm at home is one of the many hog farms that faces… Continue

Added by Stewart Skinner on October 7, 2009 at 3:05am — 1 Comment

Shaun Haney: How Ontario and the West are Different.

I have posted this commentary by our friend Shaun Haney of Alberta, he dropped in to the Farms.com office for a visit a couple of weeks ago on his trip to Ontario.







How Ontario and the West are Different.

By Shaun Haney, Realagriculture.com



I recently traveled to Ontario to attend some meetings that pertained to my seed business. I had a great time and was hosted by some great companies and people. The real treat was getting to spend some time with local… Continue

Added by Joe Dales on October 4, 2009 at 8:38am — 2 Comments

Field Bindweed Control in the Fall

Field bindweed is an aggressive perennial weed that reduces crop yield and slows harvesting speed especially in soybeans and cereals. Eradication is impossible, but minimizing its impact in field crops is possible with a management strategy that includes a fall application of glyphosate at 1.5 L/ac (360 g/L concentration). The photo below was taken in late May of 2004 and compares field bindweed populations in the untreated… Continue

Added by Mike Cowbrough on October 1, 2009 at 10:20am — 3 Comments

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

Federal leaders promising to protect supply management

Liberal, Conservative and Bloc leaders are committed to preserving supply management

Canada invests $567M in African swine fever prevention, preparedness

The Government of Canada is committed to protecting the resilience of Canada's rural communities and the Canadian pork sector by supporting prevention efforts and preparing to respond in the event of an African swine fever outbreak. Last week Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay announced a commitment of up to $567.16 million to support hog producers should there be a closure of key export markets for Canadian pork products and live pigs due to an ASF outbreak in Canada or the United States. While Canada remains free of ASF, a single detection of ASF in Canada would close export markets due to international trade regulations and import restrictions imposed by trading partners. Canada is heavily dependent on pork and live pig exports, and the closure of key export markets would be devastating to the pork sector. It would cause hog producers to incur extraordinary costs and force them to make difficult decisions about depopulating their herds. "Thanks to the hard wor

Using Models to Enhance Sow Productivity

Modern swine production demands precision in feeding high-prolific sows to ensure both longevity and optimal performance. Over the past decade, advances in sow genetics and feeding systems have reinforced the need for accurate nutritional programs that prevent overfeeding or underfeeding individual sows. Advanced sow nutritional and management models offer swine nutritionists reliable, data-driven insights to support long-term productivity. When provided with accurate information on sow genotype, productivity, feed programs, and barn environmental data, these models have proven effective in helping producers refine feeding strategies, optimize production, and reduce feed costs. Even minor improvements in feeding precision can result in substantial economic benefits. The role of models in sow nutrition Advanced analysis and predictive modelling capabilities can assist swine nutritionists in designing sow feeding programs by integrating complex data on genetics, production history, and

NPPC asks Canada to exclude U.S. pork from retaliatory tariffs

The National Pork Producers Council has urged the Canadian government to exempt pork from any retaliatory tariffs levied on U.S. products in response to President Trump’s duties on imports from Canada. The United States exported more than $850 million of pork to Canada in 2024, while the country sent $1.7 billion of pork to the United States. Additionally, Canada exported more than $560 million worth of live swine to the United States last year, primarily to U.S. finishing and slaughter facilities where they were comingled with U.S. swine, and much of the pork was later exported back to Canada. Trump has pledged to impose the tariffs on Canada – and China and Mexico – as a way to reduce the flow of illegal immigration and fentanyl into the United States, as well as to address an $80 billion trade deficit with Canada. In written comments to Canada’s Department of Finance, NPPC noted that “[T]he tit-for-tat tariff exchanges will disrupt supply chains that have been built up over decad

NPPC requests pork be exempt from Canada’s retaliatory tariffs

Years of work poured into building an integrated US-Canada pork market may come falling down as the Canadian government seeks to enact retaliatory tariffs on US products after the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada. In hopes of retaining the countries’ strong trade relationship, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) wrote to the Canadian government asking that pork products be exempt from any retaliatory tariffs levied on US products. “The tit-for-tat tariff exchanges will disrupt supply chains that have been built up over decades,” the group wrote to Canada’s International Trade Policy Division on March 21. “We request that Canada seeks to preserve the benefits of the integrated North American market to the maximum extent practicable, including by excluding US pork imports from retaliation.” In 2024, the United States exported more than $850 million worth of pork to Canada, while Canada shipped $1.7 billion lbs of pork to the United States. Canada a

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