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: 287

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

Canadian Innovation Aims to Transform Nitrogen Fertilizers While Eliminating Microplastics

A British Columbia ag-tech company is developing a biodegradable fertilizer coating that could help farmers use less nitrogen, reduce input costs, and eliminate microplastics from controlled-release fertilizers

Ag at the Canada Investment Summit

Multiple provincial governments are pitching projects related to ag

All Wheat Output Seen Down Nearly 11%

Canada’s wheat production will fall from a year ago as both harvested area and average yields decline, according to Statistics Canada’s first production estimate for 2026. Statistics Canada on Wednesday estimated 2026 national all-wheat production at 36.122 million tonnes, down 10.9% from the upwardly revised 2025 crop of 40.562 million tonnes. Despite the year-over-year decline, the projected crop would remain historically large, exceeding production in every year since 2010 except 2013 and 2025. The estimate was close to Agriculture Canada's August supply-demand forecast of 36.271 million. For 2025, the all wheat production estimate was bumped up from the previous view of 39.955 million. The 2026 national average all wheat yield is forecast at 53.6 bu/acre, down 5.6% from the record 56.8 bu last year. The 2026 yield would nevertheless remain above the recent five-year average, reflecting generally favourable growing conditions through much of the growing season. Lower acreage

Sept. 22 training workshop targets mental health in Kansas

A Kansas State University official says an upcoming training session available to Kansans will help to address a concerning trend in mental health and resilience to stress in communities across the state. Tawnie Larson, a program manager for the Kansas Agriculture Safety and Health program at K-State, said 20 spots are open for an online train-the-trainer workshop called Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory, or COMET. The session is planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (CST) on Sept. 22. Registration is available online. It is being hosted by K-State Extension’s Stress and Resiliency Transdisciplinary team. “The training,” she said, “is aimed at expanding the number of trusted community members equipped to recognize mental health concerns and connect people with help.” The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reports that adult mental illness affects about 1 in 5 Kansans. The need is disproportionate in rural areas, where an estimated 27% of adults experience mental illness

Rotating crops this fall can set garden up for success next spring

This is the gardener’s mantra: Success requires planning. “To give your plants a healthy start next year,” says Kansas State University horticulture expert Matt McKernan, “the best practice is to rotate crops within the same family to a different location than where they’re growing this year.” Crop rotation offers several benefits, according to McKernan. “Plants in the same family are typically susceptible to similar pests,” he said. “Some pests overwinter in the soil; some are able to survive on plant debris. If the same host is available when the pests emerge in the spring, they will be able to continue feeding, and multiply the problem. Crop rotation breaks the cycle of these pests.” McKernan added that plants in the same family also have similar nutrient requirements, so rotating crops prevents the soil from becoming depleted of those nutrients. “And, the varied root system depths from one plant family to the next contributes to the health of the soil,” he said. “Now is the pe

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service