Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Day 13: An inspiring day of tours - from livestock trading to newspaper writing!

An early morning start had us visiting the Mercado de Liniers today. Mercado de Liniers is the primary livestock trade centre for Argentina established in 1901.Impressive in size, an average day moves 6000 to 7000 head of cattle. Buyers walk above the pens with the auctioneer or on horseback for a better view of the livestock. We felt as though we were following a history lesson as the tradition of gauchos on horseback moved cattle from trailers to pens. The cattle purchased and shipped to abattoirs and butchered for domestic consumption. The cattle are finished at a much lower weight than we normally see in North America due to the Argentinian preference for smaller cuts of meat. 
  
Our second stop was a non-governmental organization called Comedor Los Piletones DeMargarita.  We met with Margarita who has dedicated her life to helping the poor of Buenos Aires.  Margarita is a highly respected woman who was an orphan growing up in the poorest region of Argentina. She has raised 12 children and tirelessly put her needs aside to help others. Through donations and the help of 30 volunteers she has built a kitchen that provides more than 2000 meals each day, established a medical centre, pharmacy and dental clinic. These services are provided through a relationship Margarita has established with the university medical school. There is a nursery school providing care for children from six weeks to four years old so that teen and working moms have access to child care.  Noticing that the children were lacking stimulation she developed an orchestra for children in the area. This important activity has brought kids off the street and helped some overcome drug addictions. Margarita's last project is to build a women's shelter. At the completion of this project she will pass along her knowledge and create succession so the legacy of her generosity can continue.
 

Our first stop after lunch had us meeting with the director of fundraising for The Cimientos. This organization was established in 1997 and they have had many successes in that short time. They walked us through the pathway of a mentorship program they have created that helps vulnerable kids transition from primary to secondary school. They had realized this was where the greatest risk of drop-out was occurring. With 1170 secondary school students dropping out per day the program offered by Cimientos has been successful. Follow them on Twitter @cimientos.

Finally the day wrapped up at La Nacion - a national newspaper that has been in production for 145 years. We met with Norberto Frigerio, public relations representative. Even though Mr. Frigerio spoke to us in Spanish his passion and articulation was evident. He shared with us the issues the newspaper has faced through the political challenges Argentina has often faced such as having to reduce the printing to four pages when they could not purchase paper during Peron's reign.  La Nacion provides a weekly agricultural supplement in their Saturday edition. They report on regional economies, rural meetings and commodity prices. The paper prints 330,000 copies for the Saturday and Sunday editions and 230,000 copies Monday to Friday. We learned that a copy of La Nacion is sent to Pope Francis each day!

 

-Class 15

Views: 238

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

A Match Made for Success: How Farmer Dollars and Breeder Expertise Can Keep Canada Competitive

Walk into any Prairie coffee shop and you’ll hear two conversations: harvest and uncertainty. Harvest is the here-and-now. Uncertainty is what happens next — especially for wheat. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is signalling a shift away from commercializing field-ready cultivars in the years ahead. That change won’t happen overnight, but it will change who develops, tests and delivers the next Brandon-level winner to your farm. Experts lay out, in plain terms, what’s at stake and what farmers can do to make sure wheat doesn’t just survive the transition — it thrives. Why the Urgency? SeCan’s Western business manager Todd Hyra says the quiet part out loud: “When you think about 75% of the products coming out of one breeding program, the threat of that going away is something to be considered.” He’s talking about AAFC Swift Current’s long track record of top picks. But he quickly adds that the bigger risk isn’t just fewer varieties — it’s losing the backbone of the whole Pra

Saskatchewan Farm Groups Call for Export Sales Reporting System

Saskatchewan farm groups are calling on the federal government to establish a national grain export sales reporting system, a move they say could generate more than $56 million in annual returns for Canadian grain farmers through improved market transparency and decision-making. In a joint release Tuesday, the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) and SaskCrops said producers here are at a significant information disadvantage compared to competitors in the US and European Union, where export sales reporting systems are already in place. Those systems provide farmers with timely, destination-specific data on grain sales, enabling better market forecasting and pricing decisions, the release said. A study commissioned by the farm groups and undertaken by Winnipeg-based Mercantile Consulting Venture Inc. found that closing the information gap, could generate returns of up to $56.6 million annually for Canadian grain farmers. “Enhanced data transparency would impr

Canadians show increased trust in national food system

Almost half of Canadians feel the food system is going in the right directio

15th Annual Maple Leaf Foods' Food Safety Symposium Calls for Renewed Vigilance to Reduce Foodborne Illness from Listeria

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSX: MFI) hosted the 15th annual Food Safety Symposium in Mississauga Ontario on October 21, 2025. The event, titled "How many more wake up calls? Confronting the Listeria threat – reclaiming control before the next crisis," brought together hundreds of food safety professionals to discuss and engage on the alignment and intersection of culture and best practices to control Listeria and foodborne illness.

Farm groups call on Federal Government to create Export Sales Reporting Program

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) and SaskCrops (consisting of SaskBarley, SaskOats, SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers and Sask Wheat), call on the Federal Government for the creation of an Export Sales Reporting program, so Canadian farmers have timely access to sales and export data. Canadian farmers currently operate at a significant information disadvantage compared to producers in competing regions such as the U.S. and EU, who have robust reporting and transparency systems. “Our organizations, representing 24,000 Saskatchewan farmers, initiated an independent study by Mercantile Consulting to illustrate how greater access to export sales data could empower farmers with insights for better decision making, influencing market dynamics, pricing structures and the overall competitiveness of Canadian grain farmers,” said Jake Leguee, chair of Sask Wheat’s board of directors. The study suggests that closing the information gap, could generate return

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service