Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

On Sunday we ended our time in Chile and Argentina welcomed us. It was also the time to say goodbye to our new Atlantic friends and our wonderful guide Andres and driver Horatio. 

On our way to the airport Kenny Graham, one of our new Atlantic friends, gave a wonderful farewell by commenting about what he learned about each AALPer. It was an extremely thoughtful send off. 

Once we got to the airport we learned that our flight was delayed more than an hour. Why, you ask? Our flight was coming from Toronto and of course our wonderful winter weather had delayed the flight. We made the best of out of it though - there was no Timmy's but we quickly found the Starbucks. A small taste of home!

One thing we noticed about our two hour flight from Santiago to Buenos Aires was that they served us a meal – a sandwich, fruit and free alcoholic beverages. If this was a North American flight we would not have had this. So is it South American hospitality on Air Canada or a mandate?

When we landed in Buenos Aires we had to go through customs again and in Argentina Canadians must pay a reciprocity fee. They also wanted to know how many mobile phones we were bringing in each and what the models were as apparently they do not want anyone to sell mobile phones in the country.

After customs and baggage claim a few of us found another piece of home - McDonald's! And more than a couple of burgers were eaten.

Our tour guide in Argentina is Jorge - a very knowledgeable man with many years of experience in agriculture including years spent in Canada and Washington as part of Argentina’s agricultural attaché.  He gave us a brief history of the city before dropping us off at our hotel.

As a welcome to Argentina, we enjoyed a Tango show at one of the oldest shows in Bueons Aires. We dressed in our most sizzling attire and stepped off the bus at Senior Tango where we were seated at round tables facing a huge circular stage. The vino Tinto and thick, juicy steak were quickly delivered to our table.  The show enacted the history of Argentina, the sultry origins of the tango and ended with a resounding and soulful "Don't cry for me Argentina". The intricate dance moves were only slightly upstaged by the live horses and awe-inspiring moustaches.  

The Tango was created in Buenos Aires in the 1890s - invented in the houses of ill repute and later introduced to France and embraced there.  

Accordion, violin, la musica!  An amazing show that we will never forget. 

"I don't often eat sirloin steak while watching the tango, but when I do, it's in Argentina!" -Donna

-Class 15 

 

Views: 254

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

Ag in the House: Dec. 1 – 5

A Liberal minister reminded the House the carbon tax doesn’t apply to farmer

Ontario Animal Health Network (OAHN) Swine Network Quarterly Industry Report

Starting in 2015, Senecavirus A (SVA) has caused intermittent complications with respect to the export of Canadian cull animals to the United States. This disease resembles reportable swine vesicular diseases. This is a national issue and since June 2025 has impacted Ontario cull sow movements. In July 2025, the APHIS and the USDA removed the export eligibility status for a cull sow assembly in Ontario due to SVA lesions being seen in cull sows sent to a USDA processing facility. These lesions initiated foreign animal disease investigations at this US processing plant. The suspect animal(s) were initially quarantined for individual inspection and further testing. Since the initial site, another 2 Ontario cull sow assembly sites have also had their export eligibility status revoked by APHIS and the USDA for similar reasons. The affected assembly sites accept cull sows from Quebec, the Maritimes and Ontario. Each affected assembly site must action the USDA requirements including emptyin

New restrictions placed on hunting, farming 'incredibly destructive' wild boars in Alberta

Wild boars have been declared "a pest in all circumstances" by the Alberta government effective Dec. 1, meaning new restrictions have been placed on keeping them in captivity and hunting them in the wild. It is now illegal to keep, buy, sell, obtain or transport wild boars in Alberta without a permit. That also means no new wild boar farms will be permitted in the province. The hunting and trapping of wild boars in Alberta is banned as well, with the exception of land owners or occupants killing the animals on their own land. Any person who kills a wild boar is now required to report the date, location and number of boars killed to the province as soon as possible. Hannah McKenzie, the province's wild boar specialist, says the changes were made due to the dangers posed by existing wild boar populations and the risks associated with more escaping from captivity. "In addition to damaging agriculture and the environment, wild boar pose a serious risk for the introduction and spread of

CUSMA Review Raises Concerns Over Potential U.S. Tariffs on Canadian Pork

As the first formal review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) approaches in July, pork producers across North America are bracing for potential impacts—especially the possibility of new U.S. tariffs on Canadian agriculture. Florian Possberg, Partner at Polar Pork Farms, says the U.S. political landscape is shaping expectations. He notes that U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly pushed for a baseline 15% tariff on foreign goods in recent global trade discussions. If that approach carries into the CUSMA renegotiation, it could disrupt one of the pork sector’s most critical trade corridors. Free Trade Has Been Essential for Pork Movement Possberg emphasizes that under CUSMA, both live hogs and processed pork products have flowed freely across borders without tariffs. This freedom is especially important given the highly integrated nature of North America’s pork supply chain. The best-case scenario, he adds, is that tariff-free access continues unchanged. The wor

FCC report highlights productivity as key to Canada’s agricultural future

Canadian farmers could see significant income gains and new opportunities if agricultural productivity growth returns to historic highs. The Farm Credit Canada (FCC) report titled Reigniting agricultural productivity in Canada, estimates that boosting productivity growth to two per cent annually could unlock $30 billion in additional farm income, generate $31 billion in GDP, and create nearly 23,000 jobs across the country. Canada has long been a standout among global food producers. Over the past half-century, the agriculture industry has achieved significant productivity growth through better farm management, improved input efficiency and technological innovation. The report warns, however, that productivity growth has slowed in recent years, threatening the industry’s competitiveness and Canada’s ability to meet growing national and global food demand. “Canada’s agricultural productivity growth has consistently outpaced other G7 countries for more than three decades, showing the s

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service