Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Days 1 & 2 - The AALP Alumni & Friends Tour 2016 heads to Hungary and Romania

DAY 1: The AALP Alumni and Friends Tour 2016 got underway on Friday, Sept. 30, with a "Welcome to Hungary" dinner on the Danube. Twenty-two AALP and AGLead New York alumni and friends raised a glass at dinner to celebrate the start of their 14 days in Hungary and Romania. Friday saw the group visiting a number of sites in the City of Budapest with the history going back more than 2000 years. The group then traveled to rural Hungary to learn more about typical farm and rural life.

DAY 2:  The AALP Alumni and Friends Tour 2016 traveled to Hortobagy to visit the Hungarian Puszta - the flat region in the Hungarian Great Plain. Typical farm life in Hortobagy has survived, as have the ancient domesticated animals: walking turkeys; bare-necked hens; Guinea-fowl; blond, red and swallow colored mangalica; a long-hair, wooly lard pig; and the Hungarian Grey cattle. We even came upon an annual cattle auction of these magnificent animals.

Lunch along the way in a circa-1700 inn and then on to Eger, in the foothills. The group enjoyed a winery tour through the Thummerer Cellars, carved in to the limestone hills, tastings and a wonderful dinner at this private wine cellar which has achieved outstanding results in the recent past.

The wine and the dinner were both excellent. Of interest was the "Egri Bikaver" (Bull's Blood), a robust red wine which the Turkish invaders believed to have strength-giving properties. Wine has been made in this region for over 1000 years. The group then headed back to their boutique hotel in Eger for a good night's rest.


Views: 114

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

Ukraine and Russia Ceasefire's Long-Term Impact on Grain MarketsImpact

Russia and Ukraine have continued to dominate the global grain market, despite infrastructure damage from the war.

Canola Crush Falls in February

The Canadian canola crush declined in February, falling below 1 million tonnes for the first time in five months. A Statistics Canada crush report on Friday pegged the February canola crush at 882,610 tonnes, down 12.6% from January and the first sub-1-million tonne monthly crush since September. Last month’s crush also fell 1.6% below the same month last year. However, the cumulative 2024-25 crush (August-February) is still running 6.2% ahead of the previous year, totalling 6.81 million tonnes. That is 59% of Agriculture Canada’s full-year crush forecast of 11.5 million tonnes, potentially a new record high. Although western Canadian canola crush capacity has expanded in the past couple of years, the canola industry is now facing trade wars on two fronts. On March 20, China officially imposed 100% tariffs on imports of Canadian canola oil and canola meal. According to the Canola Council of Canada, total canola exports to China in 2024 were valued at almost $5 billion and include

MPP for Leamington Trevor Jones named new Ontario agriculture minister

Fresh off re-election in Chatham-Kent—Leamington, the riding’s Progressive Conservative MPP is now heading a cabinet portfolio in the provincial government. Trevor Jones was named minister of agriculture, food and agribusiness on Wednesday, replacing Elgin–Middlesex–London MPP Rob Flack, who moves to municipal affairs and housing. A news release from the office of Premier Doug Ford stated the cabinet is an experienced team that will “deliver on the government’s mandate to do whatever is necessary to protect Ontario in the face of tariffs from the United States,” while building a stronger, more resilient economy. “As Ontario faces one of the greatest challenges in our history, workers and families are counting on us to stand up for their jobs and well-being,” Ford said. “Our government will double down on our plan to build, train and reskill workers for better jobs and bigger paycheques, tear down internal trade barriers, retool companies for new customers in new markets, attract mo

Second avian flu case this month reported in Lambton County

Another confirmed case of H5N1 avian influenza in birds has been reported in Lambton County by Lambton Public Health. The new case isn’t connected to one reported March 14, the agency said in a release. The latest case was reported at a commercial poultry site, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) website. The earlier Lambton case was also at a commercial poultry site. Lambton Public Health said it is working with Ontario’s Health and Agriculture ministries and the federal food inspection agency to “contain, monitor, and respond to the situation.” Avian influenza is a viral disease that mostly affects domestic poultry and wildlife such as geese, ducks, and shore birds, the agency said. No human cases of the virus have been reported so far in Ontario or Lambton County, it said. Only individuals who have worked with affected birds are considered at risk and Lambton Public Health said it is following up with those individuals.

John Cranfield named dean of the Ontario Agricultural College

John Cranfield is the new dean of the Ontario Agricultural College at the University of Guelph, removing the “acting” part from his title earlier this month. He had been serving in an interim capacity since July 2023, taking on the role after the university named the previous dean, Dr. Rene Van Acker, as its interim vice-president (research). The five-year term that started March 1 is the latest in a longstanding relationship between Cranfield and the university, where he began as an undergraduate student. Cranfield told The Observer he had spent most of his adult life as part of the University of Guelph, starting as an undergraduate studying biology before transferring to agriculture in his third year. “It really set me on an amazing path, partly because I think I was a little older when I transferred into the program. So, I had some good habits, matured a bit,” said Cranfield. “I just felt incredibly well supported, and a lot of opportunity was created for me, especially as a ma

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service