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: 279

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

‘It’s another blow’: Farmers deal with surging fertilizer prices ahead of seeding

Fertilizer is an essential part of Kevin Peters’ farm in southwestern Manitoba. But since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran, the average price of urea fertilizer, which is widely used around the world, has skyrocketed, surging around 30 per cent over the last week. Peters says the interruption in supply didn’t come as a huge surprise to him. “We deal with geopolitical issues all the time with markets, be it pork, be it grain, and now fertilizer,” he said. “There’s always some disruption seeming to happen somewhere in the world that is changing our daily prices.” Peters says he pre-purchased his fertilizer for this farming season back in the fall but is concerned about prices later this year when he has to buy fertilizer again. “We’ll see what the market looks like in eight months,” he said. Like Peters, Andrew James also pre-bought his fertilizer in the fall for his farm in Anola, Man., and he says he is happy he did. “My fertilizer bill for that (at the time) was around $350,00

From a Piece of Wire to Contaminated Feed: Preventing Foreign Material Hazards in Beef Cattle Operations

Foreign material and toxin consumption by beef cattle can lead to significant health problems, reduced performance and economic losses. Canadian cattle producers take great pride and care in how they manage their farms and ranches, from providing proper nutrition to stewarding their land and ensuring excellent animal care. Yet even with the best intentions, foreign materials and toxins can quietly find their way into feed, water or pastures. Understanding where they come from and how to prevent exposure is a key part of protecting your herd. Foreign materials and toxins often slip in through everyday farm activities such as repairing fences, running equipment, feeding hay or dealing with weather-stressed crops. A small piece of wire, leftover net wrap or contaminated feed source might not seem like much, but if consumed by cattle, it can trigger health issues, lost performance or even death. Understanding Hardware Disease When cattle consume sharp metal objects like nails or pieces

Farmers Balance Costs and Technology Investments - Tractor Sales Down

Tractor sales fell across most categories in February, but strong combine demand highlights farmers’ continued investment in productivity boosting technology.

Crude Oil and Natural Gas Outlook - What Farmers Need to Know in 2026–2027

Brent crude prices surge as Middle East conflict disrupts supply. See the 2026–2027 outlook for oil, natural gas, and electricity—and what it means for U.S. agriculture

Principal field crop areas, 2026

Canadian farmers expect to plant more canola, barley, soybeans and corn for grain in 2026, while they anticipate area seeded to wheat, oats, lentils and dry peas to decrease compared with the previous year. Wheat At the national level, farmers anticipate planting 26.7 million acres of wheat in 2026, down 1.1% from the previous year. If this anticipation is realized, national wheat area would remain well above the five-year average, despite a decrease from 2025, which would likely be attributable to continued strong global demand. Producers expect spring wheat area to edge down 0.1% to 18.8 million acres in 2026. They anticipate durum wheat area to decrease 2.4% to 6.4 million acres, while they expect winter wheat area to fall 6.7% to 1.6 million acres. Farmers in Saskatchewan anticipate planting 13.9 million acres of wheat in 2026, down 1.0% from the previous year. Producers expect spring wheat area to fall 0.6% to 8.7 million acres, while they anticipate durum wheat area to remain

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service