Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

All Blog Posts (764)

The CFFO Commentary: Decades of Dynamic Change for Ontario Agriculture

By John Clement

July 15, 2011

 

I’m starting to show my age because I recently realized that I’ve spent very close to 30 years working at a professional career in Ontario’s entrepreneurial agricultural community. Having grown up on a century-plus farm in southern Ontario, I moved into agricultural journalism for a number of years before going to work as a staff member for the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. Over the course of those three decades, I’ve assembled some… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on July 15, 2011 at 4:20am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Farmers Need to Enroll in Ontario Risk Management Program

By Nathan Stevens

July 8, 2011

 

Last week’s formal announcement of a Risk Management Program is arguably one of the most significant accomplishments for Ontario’s agricultural groups in a long time. From the perspective of agricultural leaders, this is a program that has been fought for over an extended time period that seeks to address needs for Ontario’s farmers in a global environment. The next step is to see whether the average farmer agrees with this assessment and chooses to… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on July 8, 2011 at 2:44am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Management Groups Can Hone the Skills of Farmers

By John Clement

July 1, 2011

 

Farm business management groups have been used across Canada over the past few decades but there appears to be a renewed push today to broaden their appeal. Although these groups can vary widely from sector-to-sector, most feature a small group of farmers working with a facilitator to compare individual production and financial records against those of peers. In the process, the aim is to grow and develop the management skills of all participants in… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on July 3, 2011 at 7:14am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Evaluating the Value of Dollars spent on Environmental Projects

By Nathan Stevens

June 24, 2011

 

In a world of limited financial resources, choosing the best environmental projects and the targets to be met can be difficult for policy makers. Recently, Dr. Anna Roberts from the Department of Primary Industries in Victoria, Australia, shared an approach to establishing and evaluating environmental improvement goals.

 

The approach is known as INFFER, which is short for Investment Framework for Environmental Resources. The key point of… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on June 24, 2011 at 4:45am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Profitability in the Ontario Food Chain Extends to Input Suppliers

By John Clement

June 17, 2011

 

The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario has said repeatedly that a sustainable Ontario agriculture needs to be profitable for all those in the food chain. Typically, most people view the food chain as only extending upwards from farmers to processors and retailers. But the reality is that it extends much further than that conception to include both consumers and farm input suppliers.

 

That reality was spelled out in a recent letter I… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on June 17, 2011 at 5:45am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Healthy Food Processing Sector Creates Opportunities for Our Farmers

By Nathan Stevens

June 10, 2011

 

Efforts are being made to increase awareness of the importance of the food processing industry in Ontario. The Government of Ontario and Synthesis Agri-food Consulting recently developed A Global Hub for Food Processing: Agri-food Asset Map. This document highlights the province’s diverse food growing and processing sector.

 

The Agri-food Asset Map highlights the strengths that Ontario has to offer as a place for…
Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on June 10, 2011 at 2:19am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Helping Out In The Rebuilding of An Agricultural Sector

By John Clement

June 3, 2011

 

The University of Guelph and Njala University in Sierra Leone have entered into a unique arrangement to strengthen the African institution’s ability to help in the rebuilding and development of agriculture and community service. As part of that arrangement, a delegation from the Sierra Leone university recently toured Ontario to gain a sense of how our province has put together a strong working relationship between farmers, producer groups,…

Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on June 3, 2011 at 2:16am — No Comments

Farms.com Market School: Factors That Influence Grain Commodity Price Basis

Lesson 17: Moe Agostino of Farms.com Risk Management provides some information on what the main factors that impact on the grain commodity price basis.



For the additional lessons visit…

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Added by OntAG Admin on June 3, 2011 at 2:14am — No Comments

Farms.com Market School | Basis in Time vs. Basis in Space

Lesson #16: Part 3 of 4 in the mini series of understanding basis. This

video looks more closely at basis in time and space and it's effects on

your bottom line.

 

For all the Farms.com Market School Videos - Visit…

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Added by OntAG Admin on June 3, 2011 at 2:09am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Charting the Unknown Territory of Source Water Protection

By Nathan Stevens

May 27, 2011

 

Ontario is taking steps to protect our source water. However, we really don’t know what sort of impact this protection will have on farmers and their livelihoods. The requirements farmers may face, and the manner in which this process develops, will greatly impact agriculture’s support for the Clean Water Act.

 

There are a variety of options that source water committees are able to use to improve water quality. These range from…
Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on May 27, 2011 at 2:07am — 1 Comment

The CFFO Commentary: Key Questions for a Changing Agriculture

By John Clement

May 20, 2011

 

Farming is changing. And it’s not just changing in the scale of operations we now have, or the increasingly diverse markets we now supply. It’s also changing in how we view the vocation of farming and how it connects to rural communities and our fellow farmers. Simply put, our emphasis on the business of farming now often overshadows other dimensions to farming that we used to take for granted.

 

At the core of this change is predominately the… Continue

Added by CFFO Blog on May 20, 2011 at 3:15am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Social Change Creates Evolving Standards for Farmers

By Nathan Stevens

May 13, 2011

 

There are times when a series of events come together and force change within an otherwise stable industry, game, or community. The status quo can change over time as new knowledge or societal expectations emerge. A perfect example is the shift in attitude towards head-shots in hockey. The question arises – are there uncomfortable areas within agriculture that are not being dealt with because the pressure to change isn’t great enough…
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Added by CFFO Blog on May 13, 2011 at 4:39am — No Comments

On Site Ethanol Processing - Use of crop waste

I would like to start a discussion regarding On-site ethanol processing.  I believe that 'decentralized' production of ethanol using waste from farm crops is a niche that has not been exploited.  The problem with the large ethanol plants trying to workout the cellulosic ethanol problem is the cost of the enzymes for pre-treatment of the waste products.  However, if a farmer can process the waste him/herself on his own farm using his waste or even his corn and then use the ethanol in his/her own… Continue

Added by Richard Edmonds on May 9, 2011 at 5:32am — No Comments

The CFFO Commentary: Promise of Federal Farming and Food Strategy Needs to Deliver

By John Clement

May 6, 2011

 

Now that the election signs are being gathered up and put away for another four years, it’s time to consider some of the implications of a majority Conservative government for Canadian agriculture. And nothing may be a greater opportunity for farmers than a commitment by the newly-elected Conservative government to create a new national farm and food strategy to guide and support agriculture over the…
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Added by CFFO Blog on May 7, 2011 at 7:56am — No Comments

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

There’s a Revolution Going on in the Hybrid Rye Space and Alberta is Playing a Big Role

Kenny Piecharka of Lethbridge recently took over as country lead for KWS Seeds Canada at an exciting time for the crop the company specializes in: hybrid fall rye.

A profound shift is needed in Alberta — a shift toward embracing the potential of cutting-edge genetics to propel farming into a new era of success and sustainability.

At last week’s CrossRoads Crop Conference in Calgary, Alberta, seed community leaders came together to champion this transformation, highlighting the pivotal role farmers play in shaping the future of agriculture.

Federal ag minister concludes trip to China

Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay has returned to Canada after a one-week mission to China.

Crop hail claim payouts reach $230 million

Member companies of the Canadian Crop Hail Insurance Association (CCHA) paid out $230 million to Western Canadian grain farmers.

Finetuning fertilizers for better crop yields

Many agricultural soils are deficient in the nutrient zinc despite the fact that farmers use fertilizers enriched with the element.

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