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 —
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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 —
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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 —
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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 —
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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 —
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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 —
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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
The federal fuel tax suspension is expected to lower diesel costs for farmers at a critical time in the growing season, easing pressure on already-tight margins.
The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) and Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) are pleased to announce the launch of the public comment period for the draft Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Beef Cattle. The public comment period allows stakeholders—including producers, consumers, and others with an interest in the welfare of beef cattle—to review the draft Code and provide input that will inform the final version, recognizing that perspectives and experiences across Canada, can differ. The draft Code and the public comment system are now accessible here. All comments must be submitted through the online system to ensure feedback is consistently reviewed. The public comment period will close on June 12, 2026. Following the close of the comment period, the Code Committee will review and consider the submitted feedback, and the final beef cattle Code of Practice will be released in 2027. A Scientific Committee report summarizing research conclusions on welfare-relate
With the start of widespread spring seeding just around the corner, Prairie moisture conditions are continuing to improve. The latest monthly update of the Canadian drought monitor on Monday showed just 21% of Prairie agricultural lands impacted by abnormal dryness or some form of drought as of the end of March. That’s down sharply from 47% at the end of February and continues a downtrend from last fall, when farmland impacted by dryness or drought hit 71% in November. Most of the Prairies experienced near to above-normal March precipitation in March, with much of region receiving between 85% and 150% of normal, with some localized areas exceeding 200% of normal due to multiple winter storms, the monitor said. However, other areas were not as lucky, including southern Alberta, which saw only about 60% of normal. In Alberta, conditions generally improved, especially across central parts of the province where abnormal dryness and moderate drought receded after widespread precipitat
Farmers in the American Midwest entered the 2026 planting season somewhat better positioned than peers elsewhere in the U.S. to manage the recent surge in fertilizer costs, but a new survey suggests many are still feeling significant strain as volatility tied to the Middle East conflict ripples through agricultural input markets. An American Farm Bureau Federation market intel article on Tuesday said the bureau’s Fertilizer Availability Survey - conducted from April 4 to April 11 and drawing responses from more than 5,700 farmers and ranchers - found the Midwest had the highest fertilizer pre-booking rate in the country. About 67% of Midwestern producers reported securing fertilizer earlier in the season, reflecting the region’s heavy reliance on corn and soybean rotations, where nutrient needs are large and purchases are often made well ahead of planting. That early buying helped shield many Midwest growers from the sharpest recent price increases. Even so, nearly one in three M