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AALP's Blog – February 2015 Archive (11)

Day 10: Back to school

Day 10 started with boarding the bus for an hour trip to an Ag School in Venado Tuerto (One Eyed Deer).  The name of the school was Escuela Agricola and it was a private school with students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 established in 1968. The school sits on…

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Added by AALP on February 28, 2015 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Day 9: Farm tours and good eats!

Today we headed northwest out of Buenos Aires to the Area of Pergamino... and it wasn’t long before the land opened up into soybean, corn, cattle and horses. It’s safe to say this was a welcome sight for all of us!

Our first stop was at a machinery shed in Cabana El Desafio. This mid-sized farm consists of 1000 ha of soybean, corn, wheat and specialty green peas and…

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Added by AALP on February 26, 2015 at 3:08am — No Comments

Day 8: Arriving in Argentina

On Sunday we ended our time in Chile and Argentina welcomed us. It was also the time to say goodbye to our new Atlantic friends and our wonderful guide Andres and driver Horatio. 

On our way to the airport Kenny Graham, one of our new Atlantic friends, gave a wonderful farewell by commenting about what he learned about each AALPer. It was an extremely thoughtful send…

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Added by AALP on February 24, 2015 at 8:42am — No Comments

Day 7: Making memories (and wine!) at Montgras Estate

We started the day with the anticipation of our last stop of the day - wine tasting at Montgras Estates! Alas we had a few stops before getting to the winery. 

Our first stop was with a visit with a small vegetable and fruit producer. Luis Carrasco Saldana is a forward-thinking farmer who took the initiative three years ago to…

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Added by AALP on February 22, 2015 at 7:06am — No Comments

Day 6: Agricultural tours and a rare rain

Our class started the day with a goal - to make it through six stops and return at the end of the day with all the windows on the bus!

After a short drive…

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Added by AALP on February 21, 2015 at 10:50am — No Comments

Day 5: Getting a taste of the Chilean fruit & vegetable basket

Today's International Study Tour got off to an early start with a visit to Lo Valledor Wholesale Market in Santiago.  Similar to the Ontario Food Terminal, Lo Valledor trades about 90% of the fruits and vegetables in Chile, with daily transactions totalling over $5 million US dollars. The most unique product that is sold is dried seaweed.

We then travelled to the…

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Added by AALP on February 21, 2015 at 10:22am — No Comments

Day 4: A Chilean Education

We started off day four of our International Study Tour learning about the Chilean economy at Scotiabank.  Chile has the fifth largest economy in Latin America and has seen significant growth in their economy over the last 30 years.  The Canadian Dollar and the Chilean Peso react to the world economy in a similar fashion; when one appreciates the other tends to appreciate as…

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Added by AALP on February 18, 2015 at 11:35am — No Comments

Day 3: Visit to the Canadian Embassy and more

Our morning began with a great breakfast at the hotel followed by a speaker from ASOEX which is the Chilean Association of Fruit Exports. As a not for profit organization, they facilitate the export process, stimulate research and innovation and encourage industry training by defending the sectors interests, managing agreements, administration of inspection…

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Added by AALP on February 18, 2015 at 11:21am — No Comments

Day 2: Casablanca Valley in Chile



Today we began our adventure with a visit to a Chilean dairy farm in the Casa Blanca Valley. The farm is home to a 1200 head milking cow herd and the farmer is working to grow the herd to 1800. The farm owner is a retired professor of plant physiology and now manages about 200 employees. 40 of these employees work full-time at the dairy, milking 23 hours…

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Added by AALP on February 17, 2015 at 4:33am — No Comments

Day 1: We made it!

AALP Class 15 and our friends from the Atlantic Agricultural Leadership Program secured the farms at home, wrapped up last minute projects, said goodbye to loved ones and battled vicious winter weather to descend on Terminal 1, excited - and maybe a little nervous - to kick off our grand adventure.

While some caught fitful sleep and others binge…

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Added by AALP on February 17, 2015 at 4:33am — No Comments

And they're off! Class 15's International Study Tour is February 14 to March 1, 2015

Class 15 departs on February 15, 2015 for their International Study Tour themed “Political, Economic and Cultural Comparisons”. The class will be touring Chile and Argentina and will return on March 1, 2015.

Here are some of their destinations:

  • Chile
    • Excursion to vegetable and dairy farms Valparaiso and Pacific Coast
    • Tour of the city of Santiago and visit to the Canadian Embassy
    • Presentations from agricultural organizations including Fundacion…
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Added by AALP on February 12, 2015 at 6:05am — No Comments

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

Map: Dakotas Drought Remains Entrenched

There is still plenty of time before spring planting, but abnormal dryness and drought remains stubbornly entrenched across the Dakotas. Released today, the latest US drought monitor shows abnormal dryness afflicting more than two-thirds of North Dakota, with more than half of the state impacted by some form of drought (see map below). Those numbers have remained little changed since the end of November and represent a stark departure from early June, when abnormal dryness and drought impacted less than 9% and 3% of the state, respectively. The situation in South Dakota is even worse, with 100% of the state being in some form of drought since early November. Like North Dakota, South Dakota went from being little affected by abnormal dryness and drought in June to the current levels. Meanwhile, the latest season drought outlook from the US Climate Prediction Center suggests drought will persist across all of South Dakota and much of North Dakota for the remainder of February and t

Advance Payments Program provides cash flow until farmers can sell agricultural products

Thousands of Western Canadian farmers meet their cash flow needs through an Advance Payments Program (APP) cash advance from Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA). APP is a federal loan program that offers farmers marketing flexibility through interest-free and low-interest cash advances through their unsold crop and livestock inventory. CCGA is now into its 40th year of running the program and Vice-President, Finance & APP Operations Dave Gallant said farmers can apply for a 2025 cash advance during the early application window. “Now is a great time for farmers to get their application submitted, so we can process their paperwork and provide the spring operating funds they need as quickly as possible,” Gallant said. For 2025, farmers can apply for up to $1 million in financing, with the interest-free component at $100,000 and the remaining at CCGA’s interest-bearing rate of prime less 0.25 per cent. Every year, over 10,000 farmers in Western Canada take advantage of cash adv

The Great Twine Round-Up Contest in Alberta: Be part of it in 2025!

Three out of four $3000 cash prizes are still to be won across Alberta in 2025 in the Great Twine Round-Up Contest. The first prize was randomly drawn on January 15 from over 100 entries, and was awarded to the winner’s 4-H club, the Northern Lethbridge 4-H Beef Club. As part of the Alberta Ag-Plastic. Recycle It! pilot program and in partnership with the Alberta Plastics Recycling Group (APRG) and Cleanfarms, this innovative contest helps encourage Alberta farmers to step-up their recycling of used plastic baler twine. “Alberta farmers proudly do their part to make agriculture clean and sustainable,” says Cleanfarms Executive Director Barry Friesen. “Last year alone, Cleanfarms recycled 95,400 kg of twine through the Alberta pilot. This contest helps recognize all that hard work, while building a better future together.” With funds granted by the Government of Alberta and administered by Alberta Beef Producers, a total of $12,000 is divided into four cash prizes of $3,000. Three of

Governments support crop health projects through research and innovation

The governments of Canada and Manitoba are providing $4.7 million in grant funding under the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership (Sustainable CAP) to support 36 projects, including several that benefit the future of crop health in Manitoba, under the Research and Innovation Program over the next three years, federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced today at CropConnect. The Research and Innovation Program supports the development of science-based solutions and tools that address known challenges, prepare for potential disruptions and climate threats, and capture emerging opportunities in the agriculture and agri-food sector. The program provides funding to eligible applicants for research and capacity building projects aimed at promoting the agriculture sector's growth and sustainability, helping to put Manitoba at the forefront of sustainable agriculture research. Funding will support 36 projects

FVGC Executive Director Highlights Tariff Concerns at Canada-U.S. Economic Summit

Massimo Bergamini, Executive Director of the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC), participated in the Prime Minister’s Canada-U.S. Economic Summit today in Toronto.

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