Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Exploring Thien Canh Son Caves

After a great night’s sleep at sea, we got energized for the day ahead with a group Tai Chi lesson on the top deck of the Victory cruise ship. We enjoyed coffee and tea and a light breakfast while we made our way to Thien Canh Son cave, which means mountain landscape in the heavens.

The cave is located on Bai Tu Long Bay and set below a stone cliff. It was created by techtonic movement, volcanic eruption, sea regression and erosion from rain and sea water. It was beautiful on the inside, with a sparkling ceiling and stalactites.


After exploring the caves, we enjoyed an assorted buffet brunch, another delicious meal on the boat while we headed back to shore. We disembarked at 11:30 and started our four-hour bus ride back to Hanoi.

During the first half of our bus ride we had a Sponsor Spotlight from classmates, Kevin and Rebecca. They taught us more about Robinson Organization and Consulting Group, who taught us Gridworks during our first seminar. They help organizations and companies work together to implement change and help instill a common base of values.

After the Sponsor Spotlight, we participated in two facilitated discussions during which we shared with the class the most interesting/random thing we've seen on our study tour so far and things we've observed that are both the same and different as Canada. We talked a lot about the different food we have seen and random items being carried on scooters, as well as our shared values and surprising similarities and differences in agriculture between Vietnam and Canada, like our grocery shopping habits. Most Vietnamese pick up the food they are going to use fresh every day from a local market.


We stopped at Legend Pearl Farm to learn about the process of pearl farming and had a chance to browse the showroom and purchase authentic pearl jewellery made from the farm. There are three types of pearls, Akoya (classic) South Sea (white) and Tahiti (dark). Naturally, they take about ten years to form; however, on the farm they can speed up the process to five years.

We met Dr. Dao Xuan Cuong at our hotel to learn about the Syngenta corporation and Syngenta foundation in Vietnam which does extensive work to help farmers in Vietnam with sustainability, pesticide safety, and profitability.

We ended the night, and our time in Hanoi, with a buffet dinner at a local restaurant where we could interact with the locals.

Views: 524

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

Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency Scholarship Winner

The Canadian Beef Cattle Check-Off Agency is pleased to announce that Ryan Trefiak of Edgerton, AB has been awarded the 2026 $2000 scholarship. Ryan is pursuing studies in Agricultural Systems Technologies at Iowa State University. This year’s judging panel noted they were impressed by the quality and dedication of all candidates, making the selection process a difficult one. Since its launch, the scholarship program has grown into one of the Agency’s most wide-reaching communications initiatives, connecting with students across the beef industry and helping support the next generation of leaders in Canadian agriculture. Congratulations, Ryan! We wish you continued success in your studies.

Field Week: Covering distance, literally and academically

There is only so much environmental science that can be learned in a classroom or science lab. Field experience is woven throughout Lakeland College’s environmental sciences programs, with labs taking place in the natural spaces on and around campus throughout the year. Each year, however, that experience is intensified during Field Week. That’s when second-year environmental sciences students find themselves knee-deep in the river electrofishing, setting up and checking small mammal traps, deploying autonomous recording units, constructing bat houses, capturing, banding and releasing songbirds, reading soil profiles, touring mine sites and assessing wetlands. “I love the hands-on experience,” says Mackenzie Hamm, a second-year environmental sciences student majoring in wildlife and fisheries conservation. “We’ve got to learn quite a few different things. It really brings into context what we’re learning in the classroom, so I can actually apply all of that theory that we’ve been doi

Growing the future: Judy Sweet invests in Lakeland’s ag students

Judy Sweet is continuing her longstanding support of Lakeland College agricultural sciences students by investing in the Student-Managed Farm (SMF) Lab Revitalization project. Sweet’s gift will support upgrades to the calving barn on the Vermilion campus farm, enhancing agricultural teaching, applied research, animal care and industry collaboration. The improvements will also strengthen facility functionality, sustainability and long-term operational capacity. “Judy Sweet’s generosity is an investment in the future of agriculture and in the students who will lead it,” says Dr. Alice Wainwright-Stewart, president and CEO of Lakeland College. “Her continued support of Lakeland’s Student-Managed Farm helps us provide the modern facilities and hands-on learning experiences our students need to put their education into action. This gift will strengthen animal care, help advance applied research and prepare graduates to make a meaningful impact in this essential industry. We are deeply gra

Canada could add $5.4B to GDP by processing more of its crops at home: EY

Canada could generate up to $5.4 billion in additional GDP and support approximately 34,000 full-time-equivalent jobs by redirecting just 10 per cent of its raw crop exports to value-added processing here at home, according to new EY analysis released today by Protein Industries Canada. The findings come as the federal government has made domestic food processing a national priority through its National Food Security Strategy. The strategy calls for Canada to reduce its dependence on other countries by processing more of the food it grows and sets an explicit objective to increase domestic processing to strengthen self-sufficiency and drive economic growth. Canada already has an extraordinary foundation to build from. Its food and agriculture sector contributed $149.2 billion to GDP in 2024 and supported 2.3 million jobs, while Canada remains a leading producer of major crops including wheat, canola and corn. But too often, Canadian crops leave the country before the higher-value pro

Thiesse, Parman discuss farm economy, tight margins at Big Iron

Live from the Big Iron Farm and Construction Show on Wednesday, Sept. 16, Kent Thiesse, farm management analyst, and Bryon Parman, NDSU farm management specialist, joined the Red River Farm Network’s “Issues and Events Center” to discuss the farm economy and the tight margins farmers are dealing with. The conversation kicked off with both guests discussing their concerns when it comes to farm balance sheets heading into 2027. “I think there’s certainly some positivity out there in the markets,” Thiesse said. “We’ve seen a runup in both corn and soybean prices, even wheat prices. Unfortunately, we’ve also seen a runup in input costs, as well. Fertilizer costs a year ago at this time were a big concern. They’ve kind of leveled out, but they haven’t really come down much. “As we look forward and start running the pencil for next year, even with higher commodity prices, we’re maybe breakeven on soybeans and we’re in the red with corn based on the numbers I’ve looked at. We’re facing som

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service