Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

AALP Class 13 International Study Tour to Guatemala and Belize - March 3, 2011

Imagine – you arrive in a foreign country with the promise of land… if you are willing to clear and farm it. You and your family work day by day, year by year, clearing trees, learning what the land will produce and growing a community. This may sound like the challenges that the pioneers faced coming to Upper Canada in the 1800’s; however, deep in the jungle of Belize in 1958, this is the challenge that Canadian Mennonite’s faced when they immigrated through Canada and Mexico to the promise of 18,000 acres of farm land in the northern district of Cayo, Belize.


In the picturesque Mennonite community of “Spanish Lookout”, AALP Class 13 toured a mill, layer and broiler operations, and a milo field. We learned how the Mennonites became number one in Belize’s poultry production industry and have made their dairy industry into a leading ice cream processor.

Inspired by Eloy Waight, a community development agent who spoke to AALP about the community of Spanish Lookout, he stated, “If you aren’t learning something every day, you’re moving backwards.” AALP members were able to hear how the Mennonite community brought together heritage, tradition and religion, with their learnings of beginning in a new environment. The farmers and entrepreneurs we met learned from scratch. Applying techniques that their ancestor’s learned in Canada, they worked together as a community through trials and errors, celebrating success and downfalls united. Their history was captured in 2008 when a park was developed as a memorial to the path they have walked and the learnings that have pushed them forward. A series of plaques capture 1-2 highlights of each year. This stands as a testament to future generations that adversity can give a community the opportunity to move forward – a message reflected yesterday in a seemingly parallel way of life at Chaa Creek. Showing that even in the jungle, far removed from Canada, strong leadership can come from behind and from learnings gained through challenges.

Rick Kush, Kathryn Minten, Melanie Williams - AALP Class 13

Views: 132

Comment

You need to be a member of Ontario Agriculture to add comments!

Join Ontario Agriculture

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

Hursh: My canola acreage prediction

Statistics Canada will release a seeded area estimate on June 30. This will be based on data collected in late May and early June. I'm predicting a larger than expected increase in canola acreage. In its preliminary seeding intentions report back in March, Statistics Canada predicted a 1.0 per cent increase in Canadian canola area to 21.8 million acres. A lot has happened since then and canola prices have seen more strength than other commodities. Canola also looks good from a crop insurance coverage point of view even in non-traditional canola growing regions. Canola is already a large percentage of the cropland in central and northern areas of the grain belt limiting how much more it can increase. However, I believe acreage may have increased dramatically in many southern regions. In southwest Saskatchewan where I farm, I can’t remember seeing so many canola fields. Canola here still isn’t nearly as common as lentils or durum, but there’s a surprising amount of canola and mos

Seeding virtually done in Saskatchewan, though some acres unseeded

The latest provincial crop report indicates seeding is basically done in Saskatchewan as progress is marked at 99 per cent complete. A map of seeding progress province-wide shows an area from Hudson Bay down to Yorkton is between 85 and 95 per cent complete, with pockets at less than 80 per cent complete. The east-central region as a whole is at 96 per cent complete while other regions are at 99 or 100 per cent. However, three per cent of acres of the province went unseeded due to excessive moisture. "Similarly, three per cent of forage crops have excess moisture and are unlikely to produce a crop while two per cent of pastureland is not accessible or is unusable," states the report. "In areas experiencing reduced moisture, two per cent of the seeded acreage this spring in the province is affected. Five per cent of the forage crops may have yields significantly impacted, while five per cent of pastures may have reduced carrying capacity." Rainfall this past week delayed fieldwork,

Cereals Canada Releases its 2025 Annual Report

Cereals Canada has released its 2025 Annual Report, highlighting a year of strong market development, technical leadership, and advocacy efforts that reinforced Canada’s position as a leading global supplier of high-quality wheat, durum, oats, and barley. Throughout 2025, Cereals Canada continued to support international customers and strengthen demand for Canadian cereals through targeted market development programming, technical expertise, and proactive market access engagement. Canada exported cereals to more than 80 countries, with cereal exports valued at approximately $12.8 billion annually, demonstrating continued global confidence in Canadian quality and reliability. A key priority throughout the year remained helping global customers understand and optimize the value of Canadian cereals. Through technical support, customer outreach, and crop quality programming, Cereals Canada worked closely with global buyers to ensure Canadian quality translated into measurable value throu

Cereals Canada Announces New Board Leadership

Adam Dyck, industry representative from Warburtons, has been elected Chair of the Cereals Canada Board of Directors. As Chair, Dyck will help lead the organization’s work to strengthen Canada’s position as a trusted supplier of high-quality wheat, durum, barley, and oats. Rounding out the executive committee is Josh Boersen, producer representative from Grain Farmers of Ontario, as Vice-Chair; Rob Stone, producer representative from Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, as Secretary; and Jean-Marc Ruest, industry representative from Richardson International, as Treasurer. The Board also welcomed four newly elected directors, whose insight and leadership will guide the organization’s efforts to support market development, customer engagement, and innovation across the cereals sector. “The Board of Directors plays a critical role in guiding our work on behalf of Canada’s cereals value chain,” said Dean Dias, chief executive officer of Cereals Canada. “We are pleased to welcome Ad

Knowledge Centre receives $2.6 million from Weston Family Prairie Grasslands Initiative

Stretching across Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba, Canada’s prairie grasslands support hundreds of species, including migratory birds, pollinators and people, while also sustaining soil health, water systems, livestock production, and Indigenous stewardship. Yet of the roughly 141 million acres of historical grasslands in Canada, only 26 million acres remain intact today. What remains of prairie grasslands represents a rare and urgent opportunity to protect biodiversity at scale. “Indigenous lifeways, languages, and food systems evolved with the environment, and these reciprocal relationships shaped the ecological processes that can restore the health of grasslands,” said Candice Pete-Cardoso, director of the kihci-okawimaw askiy Knowledge Centre at USask. The new Indigenous Grasslands Stewardship and Knowledge Exchange Network has been launched by the kihci-okawimaw askiy Knowledge Centre together with the Indigenous Kinship Circle (IKC). The IKC is a cross-boundary community of

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service