Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

AALP Class 14 North American Study Tour - July 7, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Ithaca to New York City (via Scranton, PA)

AALP Class 14 woke up in Ithaca, NY to a much more comfortable ambient temperature than we experienced the previous day. With some clouds in the sky, we headed down the road to Cayuta where we met Tom Gerow at Wagner Hardwoods. Wagner's business focusses on oak, maple, ash, walnut and cherry woods for use in flooring, cabinets, and furniture.  A large percentage of their product is sold to overseas markets, particularly South East Asia. Tom is Head of Procurement at Wagner and a graduate of NY LEAD Class 12. Tom provided a very detailed, and enthusiastic, explanation of the hardwood industry in New York state. AALP class members questioned Tom about supply and demand, marketing, sustainability, waste management, regulation and leadership in the lumber industry. The class toured the facility and saw all aspects of the mill from stacks of logs. to the debarker, planer, drying yard, and kilns (180 degrees, yikes!).  The hardwood lumber industry in New York is thriving thanks to good cooperation and management between land owners, foresters and lumber companies such as Wagner's and good leadership and vision. 

From Cayuta, the bus headed west to Scranton, Pennsylvania (yes, home of The Office). In Scranton, we continued the theme of primary industry with a tour of Lackawanna Coal Mine. Our tour guide Zack took us on a cable car ride down into the mine which has been abandoned since 1966. The ride down was slightly scary for some! We learned about how important anthracite mining was to the region since the late 1800's. Today however, only 20 anthracite mines are still in operation in Pennsylvania. The mines posed dangerous work for men and boys as young as five, with risks of explosions, falling rock, and gasses. Back in 1902, a standard work day was 10 hours, six days a week for a mere 21 cents per hour.  The parents in the group shuttered at the thought of our children working in such harsh conditions and considered other parts of the world that today still profit from child labour. A theme that may be explored again when we visit India next winter.

After the mine tour, we picked up some necessities from a nearby Walmart and headed on our road trip to Jersey, our home for the next three nights.  Some were looking forward to an exciting evening in Manhattan!

Will Heeman, Tammy Hickling, Stacey Smith - Class 14

Views: 234

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

Manitoba Planting Advances; Remains Ahead of Average Pace

Manitoba producers made just minor seeding advances this past week, although overall progress remains ahead of last year and the five-year average.  The weekly provincial crop report pegged seeding at 8% complete as of Tuesday, up 5 points from a week earlier and ahead of 4% last year and 6% on average.   Almost half the spring wheat acres in the Central and Interlake regions have been seeded, the report said, with other regions progressing quickly. Seeding of oats and barley has begun in the Southwest, Central, Eastern, and Interlake regions.  Canola planting has started in the Central region. Sunflowers have also started to be seeded in the Central and Interlake regions. Field peas are being seeded in all regions, while soybean crops are being planted in the Central, Eastern, and Interlake regions.   Manitoba received variable amounts of precipitation over the past four days, ranging from 0 mm to 12.7 mm with most regions receiving less than 0.5 mm.  Southwest:  Good weather ov

Canadian Corn Stocks Hit Decade Low, Soybeans Heavier

Canadian corn stocks as of March 31 fell to a decade low, while soybean stockpiles hit the highest in five years.  Thursday’s Statistics Canada grain stocks report showed total national corn stocks at 7.197 million tonnes, down 13% from a year earlier and the lowest since March 31, 2015, at 6.289 million. In contrast, March 31 soybean stocks were pegged at 2.393 million tonnes, a year-over-year increase of nearly 11% and the heaviest since March 31, 2020.  StatsCan said corn stocks fell amid a more than 50% fall in imports to 1 million tonnes, combined with a doubling in exports to 1.4 million.  Soybean stocks were at least partially buoyed by a larger 2024 Canadian crop, up 8.4% on the year to 7.568 million tonnes.   National on-farm corn stocks as of March 31 decreased 8.5% compared with the same date in 2024, to 4.9 million tonnes, while commercial stocks fell 20.9% to 2.3 million.   On-farm soybean stocks rose 11.1% to 1.4 million tonnes, with commercial stocks up 10.6% to 988

Early Saskatchewan Planting Ahead of 5-, 10-Year Averages

Spring planting is off to quick start in Saskatchewan, with almost 20% of the 2025 crop in the ground already.  The first weekly crop report of the season on Thursday pegged provincewide planting at 18% complete as of Monday. That’s 8 points ahead of the five-year average and 6 points better than the 10-year average. Last year, planting was 12% done at this time.  “Despite multiple storms throughout the province in April, producers were able to get into their fields and make rapid progress over the last couple of weeks,” the report said.  Limited moisture fell throughout much of the province over the last week. The highest reported rainfall was in the Alida area at 16 millimetres (mm) followed by the Lafleche area at 12 mm.  Planting progress is the most advanced in the southwest region, where 43% of the crop was in as of Monday and the first seeded crops starting to emerge. The northwest and southeast regions are also making good progress, at 15% and 14% done, respectively. The we

Understanding Yardage Costs in Cow-Calf Operations

Have you ever wondered where your money goes during the winter-feeding period? Feed costs are easy to spot in a beef cattle operation, but what about the other expenses quietly chipping away at your bottom line? This is where yardage comes in—it is a crucial part of managing winter feeding costs in cow-calf operations.  What is Yardage? Yardage refers to the overhead and non-feed costs incurred while maintaining cattle during the winter-feeding period. These costs include day-to-day expenses such as labor, equipment and building maintenance, fuel, utilities, manure handling and other general expenses like farm taxes and accounting fees. They also include non-cash costs such as machinery and facility depreciation, which represent the graduate loss of value in assets over time. Why Does Yardage Matter to a Beef Producer? Yardage may not grab attention like feed costs, but it significantly impacts profitability. These costs, especially non-cash costs like depreciation, often remain unno

Mother’s Day Q&A with Anna McCutcheon

The hardest part about motherhood is balancing everything, Anna McCutcheon says

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service