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Ontario Beekeepers Prize Pungent Buckwheat Honey

After spending time with another local beekeeper and helping harvest his annual summer honey crop this son of a beekeeper has become even more acutely aware of the various honey regions that are waiting to be discovered by North American kitchens , across the province of Ontario.

One such naturally occurring region is the wild buckwheat fields in northeastern Ontario, above hwy 7 on…

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Added by Robert Campbell on September 1, 2012 at 3:00pm — 1 Comment

New Holland 658, Baling Hay in Ontario Canada

Talk about 'making hay while the sun shines'. Here's a short video I shot on Saturday June 16th 2012 of my nephew Ryan baling hay with his New Holland 658 hay baler. The grass feed is a mixture of alfalfa, red clover and timothy and as such will make excellent feed for the growing numbers of cows on their feedlots.

I can remember harvesting the hay in this field in the 1970s and 80s - we used to walk behind the tractor and wagon and pitch 80 lbs bales onto the wagon…

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Added by Robert Campbell on June 17, 2012 at 2:36am — No Comments

Black Bears Strike But Are Repelled By Electric Fences In Ontario Beeyards

Some black bears did launch an attack on of our remote beeyards last week! 

This is what bear damage looks like, and it could have been a lot worse. The total loss was only four frames of brood. And that's because this beeyard, like all of our locations in southern Ontario, is protected by a heavy duty solar fencer.

bear damage in beeyard

Its unlikely the hive blew over in the wind - in the…

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Added by Robert Campbell on May 13, 2012 at 1:49pm — 1 Comment

Son of a Beekeeper Blog on Ontario Agriculture Network

Hello from Rob Campbell the original Son of a Beekeeper in Ontario Canada.

 

I hope to keep a blog presence here on the Ontario Agricultural network to keep readers updated on the latest challenges facing Canadian beekeepers. Because I have the good fortune of living near and helping out my family's…

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Added by Robert Campbell on April 15, 2012 at 4:50am — 1 Comment

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2012

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

CCGA Selected a Manitoba Top Employer

Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA) has been recognized as one of Manitoba’s Top Employers, a competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top Employers, now celebrating 20 years of exceptional workplaces in the province. Earlier today, the results of the 2026 competition were announced online at Eluta.ca and in a special feature in the Winnipeg Free Press. “Being named one of Manitoba’s Top Employers for 2026 is a proud achievement for CCGA,” says Rick White, President & CEO at CCGA. “This honour reflects the dedication and passion of our amazing team and their commitment to our vision of Helping Farmers Succeed and advancing agriculture within the province and across the country.” To achieve recognition through Manitoba’s Top Employers, CCGA was assessed on eight criteria, including 1) workplace, 2) work atmosphere, 3) benefits, 4) vacation and time off, 5) employee communications, 6) performance management, 7) training and development, and 8) community involvement.

Farmers’ Markets Ontario names new executive director

Farmers’ Markets Ontario (FMO) has announced that Melanie Anderson, Ottawa, will assume the role of executive director, effective April 1, 2026. FMO is the only official provincially recognized organization representing more than180 farmers’ markets across the province.

Farmers again caught in geopolitical crossfire

A week ago, things were looking up for Prairie farmers. Canola prices were rising on news China would follow through on its promise to reduce its 75.9 per cent anti-dumping tariff on canola seed after Canada eased steep tariffs on imported EVs. Those canola tariffs have now dropped to 5.9 per cent, plus the nine per cent standard import tariff already in place. While not zero, tariffs of just under 15 per cent make it possible to restore trade flows and maintain China as Canada’s second-largest canola customer. As well, Canada’s prime minister was in India on another diplomatic defrosting mission with positive implications for agricultural exports. Any time the world’s largest exporter of pulse crops such as peas, lentils and chickpeas can make inroads into the world’s biggest market for those commodities, the sun shines a little brighter. While more sales to India weren’t on the agenda, the talks between Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi still shouted progress.

Pulse Market Insight #293

StatsCan Pulse Acreage Numbers (Mostly) Not Surprising The first official forecasts of 2026 seeded area were recently issued by StatsCan, with some “interesting” estimates for a few crops. For pulse crops though, most of the acreage numbers weren’t really out of line with expectations. It’s important to note that even though StatsCan’s estimates were issued in early March, they were based on a farmer survey that occurred between mid-December and mid-January. Since that survey, there have been sizable market developments that could influence acreage decisions. That said, crop rotations are largely fixed and a portion of the acreage was already decided back in December. But there is still room for some late tweaking around the margins. The most noteworthy event was the announcement by the Chinese government to scale back or eliminate import tariffs on canola seed, canola meal and peas, which injected more optimism into those markets. This development added some support for prices whic

Mustard Breakthrough Brings Yield Gains — But GM Concerns Echo Flax Triffid Crisis

Committee chair says a nearly 10% yield jump in mustard is encouraging for growers, but warns GM mustard contamination and federal research cuts could create long-term challenges for Prairie oilseeds. Big yield gains, high-stakes market risks and mounting concerns over federal research cuts dominated flax and mustard discussions at last week’s Prairie Grain Development Committee (PGDC) meetings in Banff, Alta. “We’re seeing a real leap forward in mustard,” said Ken Jackle, chair of the Prairie Recommending Committee for Oilseeds (PRCO), pointing to a new condiment mustard line expected to go forward this year. “It’s quite a yield bump. It’ll have quite a yield advantage over the existing checks.” How big a jump? Almost 10%, he said. For mustard growers, that kind of jump matters. Yield improvements in recent years have been steady, and Jackle credited Dr. Bifang Cheng’s breeding program at AAFC Saskatoon for keeping progress moving. “It’s good to see these increases in their yield

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