Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

AALP Class 14 North American Study Tour - July 10, 2012

We welcome a lost sheep back to the fold

Michel Dignard, who could not be with us for the first three days of the tour met us in Newark and we are all very happy he did make it for the balance of the program.  Our bus left Newark this morning with a full schedule of visits to a number of organic and sustainable agricultural operations in Pennsylvania.

Our first stop was at Peace Tree Farm operated by Lloyd and Candy Traven.  The family business has been in operation for 31 years.  The large greenhouse operation is specializes in unique and hard to find plants which include cuttings and organic herbs. Peace Tree is very innovative using modern technology.  Lloyd’s expertise is demanded at various conferences around North America each year.  Technology here includes a computerized and automated watering system. The AALP group had a fascinating tour with a man who has the green thumb to complement his technology.

Our second stop this morning was to a sustainable cattle ranch operation, Tussock Sedge Farm.  Our hosts Henry and Charlotte Rosenberger explained their operation including their connection with PASA Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture.  The name of their farm is taken from the sedge (a type of grass) that is used to prevent soil erosion at the nearby creeks. They see their operation as preserving the farm land. The beef operation is a rotational grazed 90 cow and calf Angus & Devon cross cattle which are grass fed. 

Our final stop was Lundale Farm Foundation and Turning Roots Farm, a project linking farmland and new farmers.   These new farmers were looking to developing a CSA model with an educational component.  The operation has been set up as a sustainable, biodynamic and organic operation.  They are building relationships with local restaurants for their products as well as selling at farmers markets’ while also looking into roadside sales as a face to face marketing goal.

Community Share Agriculture provides consumers with direct access to local and organic foods grown by an organic farm.  The CSA model in most cases provides a family with fresh produce on a weekly basis of typical seasonal produce.  The box can have a variety of produce and varying quantities depending on weather, seasonality and other variables known in farming.  The CSA box program usually runs from May-November and is pre-paid in advance or on a weekly basis depending on the farm.

Todd Austin, Andrew Miller, Paul Vickers - Class 14

Views: 278

Comment

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

Join Ontario Agriculture

Comment by Melanie Williams on July 12, 2012 at 4:05am

Sounds great! It would be interesting to see how Turning Roots Farm compares to Ontario programs such as FarmLINK and what ideas could be shared.

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

MLAs clash over foreign ownership of Saskatchewan farmland

The issue of foreign ownership of farmland rose to the surface again at the Legislature. During Question Period last Thursday, the opposition NDP accused the Sask. Party government of not taking the issue seriously and failing to enforce the illegal purchase of farmland by foreign entities. “We’ve been calling on that government from the moment they’ve been elected, and they look the other way and have failed to enforce the law,” said Trent Wotherspoon, deputy agriculture shadow minister. “There’s so much more that we need to do. The Farm Land Security Board needs more resources and real teeth. The fines for breaking the law need to be more than a slap on the wrist. And most importantly, the government must audit and enforce the divestiture of land acquired and owned by foreign entities that have breached the law and caused the forfeiture of profit in its divestiture.” Wotherspoon went on to say that no ‘foreign entity, governments like China or criminal organizations’ should be abl

Federal strychnine ban review may help control gopher ‘plague’ on Sask. crops

Farmers and rural officials across Saskatchewan say Ottawa’s decision to review the strychnine ban could finally bring relief in the fight against gophers. Still, some warn that the solution needs to balance effectiveness and safety. At the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) midterm convention in Regina, delegates announced a resolution calling on the federal government to either reintroduce strychnine or provide a cost-effective alternative for pest control. The once-common chemical was banned by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) in 2023, leaving producers with few reliable options. SARM President Bill Huber told delegates that the association had received a verbal commitment from Ottawa to review the use of strychnine in emergencies, with support from provincial and municipal governments. “We also asked for the reinstatement of strychnine to manage Richardson’s ground squirrels,” Huber said. “They’re not just a nuisance, they’re a plagu

Foreign ownership of farmland a hot topic at Sask. Legislature

The issue of foreign ownership of farm land rose to the surface again at the Saskatchewan Legislature. During Question Period on Thursday, NDP Leader, and Agriculture Shadow Minister, Carla Beck accused the Sask. Party government of not taking the issue seriously.  "Mr. Speaker, the (Provincial) Auditor and SARM (Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities) have both sounded the alarm when it comes to the wide gaps in the system that supposed to ensure that only Canadians can buy Saskatchewan farmland. Will the Premier finally admit what most people on coffee row already understand, and that is that his government has failed to ensure that...those foreign interests can't buy up Saskatchewan farmland." Beck asked. In response, Moe noted "increases in the stringency on ownership in this province" and ensured that "there is an ongoing discussion and a committee that is going to be engaging with (land) owners to ensure that we have this right all the time in this province."  The p

2026 regional Outstanding Young Farmer nomination deadlines approaching

Most nominations are due by the end of 2025

Ag in the House: Nov. 3 – 7

Conservatives targeted the industrial carbon tax and its effect on Canadian ag and food

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service