The organizing Committee is delighted to announce that Dr. Roberta Bondar will deliver the conference’s keynote address at the banquet on March 3, 2010. Dr. Bondar has had many careers from scientist, physician, astronaut, photographer and author to entrepreneur. She is ideally suited to deliver the keynote address at the First North…
The backbone of many Canadian agriculture commodities is trade. It's what has allowed several sectors to expand and has given us our reputation as a global… Continue
THREE OUTSTANDING LEADERS SELECTED FOR INDUCTION INTO THE ONTARIO AGRICULTURAL HALL OF FAME
From the Ontario Agriculture Hall of Fame.
Milton. In its thirty-first year, the Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame Association will induct three leaders into the Hall of Fame Gallery at Country Heritage Park in Milton on Sunday June 13, 2010. To qualify for this prestigious recognition, Inductees must have demonstrated visionary leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship in the… Continue
Added by Joe Dales on February 2, 2010 at 3:53am —
No Comments
Monday, January 18, 2010, was a night for small victories for the Farmers of the Holland Marsh, the citizens of King Township, and the people of Ontario!
This was the night our Township Council voted, unanimously, in favour of an interim control by-law. Basically, if upheld by the OMB, it halts the building of the power plant slated to be imposed in the Greenbelt, on agricultural land in the Holland Marsh. This will allow Township staff the… Continue
Shaun Haney spoke to John Gillespie, Chairman of the Beef Information Center about what he thinks the he and the Beef Information Center accomplished at the NCBA. John is a farmer from Ontario who has committed an immense amount of time to serving the beef industry in… Continue
Added by Joe Dales on January 30, 2010 at 7:52am —
No Comments
Alumbaugh: Oh the Irony!
By JoAnn Alumbaugh, Farms.com
Last week, Gilbert Arenas, the pro Washington Wizards basketball player, was suspended indefinitely for bringing guns into the Wizards’ locker room and for inappropriate behavior preceding a game, when he mockingly “shot” at teammates. It happened last Wednesday, January 6, which coincidentally, was the player’s 28th birthday.
But, now here’s one for the record books: The very next day after his suspension, Arenas… Continue
Added by OntAG Admin on January 19, 2010 at 3:33am —
No Comments
TORONTO, Jan. 14 /CNW/ - The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Trees Ontario, along with its partners, the Ontario Forestry Association (OFA) and local planting agencies will host seven free workshops to educate local area landowners on the resources and incentives available to plant trees on their properties.
Everyone can take part in supporting tree planting in Ontario. The workshops give landowners the opportunity to learn about tree planting techniques, financial… Continue
Added by OntAG Admin on January 14, 2010 at 11:39am —
No Comments
Last night was a tremendous night for the Farmers of the Holland Marsh, and the citizens of King Township. We are fortunate to have so many astute individuals willing to take up this cause, and do battle with the Ontario government! As one Councillor put it "I never would have thought we would ever have to deal with the building of a power plant in the Holland Marsh"--yah, no kidding! A hydrological study has been done, independently, which does not favour the peaker plant builder's position,… Continue
By Heather Travis Westerr News
Thursday, January 7, 2010
In a few years, a herd of Holstein cows might be powering the village of Ilderton. This is not so far-fetched, as a locally owned farm has begun turning manure into an energy resource with the help of university researchers.
In 2006, the urban sprawl of London, Ont. forced the Stanton… Continue
Added by AgOntario on January 8, 2010 at 6:00am —
No Comments
My name is Avia Eek. My husband, Bill, and I farm in the Holland Marsh. My husband, and many of the farmers in the Holland Marsh are descendants of the first pioneers who broke this land in 1934. Although, it should be noted the first industry here was the harvesting of the marsh grass for mattresses. This business took place from 1880 to approx. 1915, when it peaked.
The soil in the Holland Marsh is organic based, the result of… Continue
I'm a young farmer. I can say that now - especially since just a couple of weeks ago we moved out to one of our family farms. This is a house my great-grandfather built in the early 1900's, and is the farm where the dry cows and heifers are kept. My mom and dad are a few kilometres away at the farm I grew up in - where the milking cows are.
As I get settled on the farm, I thought I'd share some of my experiences. Along the way I'd invite any and all pieces of advice I can get - as I… Continue
Strong Ontario food and beverage processors – particularly those located in communities that have been hardhit by the recent economic downturn – are encouraged to apply to the Southern Ontario Development Program (SODP). SODP’s food and beverage initiative includes a $20 million fund of federal interest-free loans for upgrades, expansions, or modernization of commercial food and beverage production facilities, or fund a strategy to access new markets.
By: Synthesis Agri-Food Insights
November 24, 2009 Volume 1, Issue 7
Helping you understand agriculture's challenges and opportunities by analyzing the issues and sharing their insights -the Synthesis consulting team Rob Hannam, Mary Lou McCutcheon, Julien DenTandt, Peter Hannam and Heidi Dancho. www.synthesis-network.com
The war for talent.
Recruiting and retaining talent has always… Continue
Despite the fact that many corn producers have yet to finish corn harvest, the corn seed sales season for 2010 has officially begun.
If you are like me, there is something a bit disconcerting about sales calls hunting seed orders for next year when I am so far behind on this year’s harvest. My thought process is, let me get the crop off, consider the performance of this year’s seed choices, and then we’ll talk about next… Continue
Soybean yields in North America have been stalled over the past 20 years as pests like aphids and Soybean Cyst Nematodes take hold. When farmers plant certified seed it allows seed companies to put profits back into research and development. Companies like Syngenta, Monsanto and Dupont are spending millions of dollars a day in research and development. With these investments by the seed industry we may finally see the soybean yield trends going in the same positive direction as the corn yield… Continue
Added by John Beardsley on November 10, 2009 at 12:47pm —
No Comments
Minister Goodyear announces investment to support Ontario’s food and beverage processors
The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) announced a $20 million investment today in Guelph that will allow food and beverage processors operating in Southern Ontario access to funds to expand, modernize, innovate and/or improve their competitiveness.
This was written by Matt Hardecke from the Young Producers' Council, which is part of the US based National Cattlemen's Beef Association. It's an interesting perspective...
As the future leaders of American agriculture and the beef industry, we need to not only know the facts but understand the thought process of our consumers. I am looking to buy a new flat screen TV. Over the weekend I went to Best Buy to gaze at the selections of options for my view pleasure. For an hour I stood… Continue
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
Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound MPP Paul Vickers said that he is pleased to be named the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, the Hon. Trevor Jones. “Agriculture has been the passion of my life,” said Vickers, the newly elected, first-term MPP. “I am very excited for this opportunity to advocate for Ontario’s farmers and agri-businesses.” The mandate of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness includes supporting the growth of Ontario’s agrifood sector, providing business supports to farmers, and ensuring the sustainability of agriculture through research and innovation. As Parliamentary Assistant, Vickers will support the Minister in achieving his mandate.
A fun and interactive program is available to help farm families start those important conversations about safety. The BASF Safety Scouts program provides 2,000 BASF Safety Scout and BASF Safety Captain kits each year at no cost to farm families across Canada. The kits are designed to encourage farm children to take on the role of safety ambassador on their farm. Leta LaRush, Vice President, Business Management at BASF Agricultural Solutions Canada said the program is a key pillar of how BASF supports the communities where their customers live, work, and play. “Our children’s safety must always come first on the farm, and it is particularly important we keep safety top of mind during busy seasons,” LaRush said. “Initiatives like this provide valuable resources that help farm families and communities invest in on-farm safety. By prioritizing these programs, we can work together to shape a safer and brighter tomorrow for Canadian agriculture.” The free activity kits can help farm fam
There is a window of relief for British Columbia farmers from the devastating waves of avian flu, leaving them to assess the toll of outbreaks spanning more than three years that saw millions of birds culled at hundreds of farms. Farmers and scientists also worry what the next migration of wild birds will bring this year. Some farmers have moved their operations outside British Columbia's Fraser Valley or exited the industry altogether since the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu began circulating, said farmer Ray Nickel. Nickel, who operates a farm in Abbotsford in the Fraser Valley, was forced to cull 60,000 chickens in the fall of 2022 due to the disease. He said his flock of about 9,000 turkeys on another farm was also euthanized in 2023. "It's just daunting, and the uncertainty about what's happening around you does weigh on you," Nickel said of the virus. "We've had reoccurring events, particularly in the fall, and the amount of anxiety and stress that goes in for producers w
Alberta farmers are shaking up their planting strategies — and sending a clear message: adaptability is the new productivity. Wheat is on the rise, canola is pulling back, and lentils and dry peas are starting to elbow their way into more rotations, according to new data from Statistics Canada. The 2025 crop year will be anything but business as usual in Alberta, as producers recalibrate around profitability, drought resilience, and global demand signals. Across the province, wheat is regaining dominance, with farmers expecting to plant 6.6% more wheat than last year, totalling 8.4 million acres. Most of that is driven by a surge in spring wheat, which is up 8.0% to 7 million acres — a response to strong international demand and a return to fundamentals in uncertain times. But perhaps the biggest plot twist? Canola — long the golden child of Prairie agriculture — is taking a hit. Alberta producers plan to seed 4.3% less canola in 2025, bringing acreage down to 6.1 million. That’s a
As the seeding window approaches across Canada, growers are entering the 2025 planting season with more uncertainty than usual — that’s the message in a new analysis from Farm Credit Canada written by senior economists Justin Shepherd and Graeme Crosbie. Ongoing trade disputes, including new tariffs from China, are adding to market volatility and complicating decisions around crop selection, FCC says—particularly at a time when cereal crops are seeing a resurgence in price competitiveness compared to oilseeds. According to the analysis, prices for key crops started the year strong, with canola and wheat futures jumping by 8% and 9%, respectively, in mid-February. But gains were short-lived. The announcement of Chinese tariffs in March triggered a sharp decline in canola prices. Although there’s been a partial recovery in recent weeks, market conditions remain highly unpredictable. Other major crops like soybeans and corn have followed a similar path. Prices climbed through late Jan