Farm Safety A Hot Topic At Ridgetown
Orford-Highgate firefighter William Macmillan shows children attending the Chatham-Kent Farm Safety Day Camp how to use a fire extinguisher.
About 120 young people turned out for the Annual Farm Safety Day Camp for Kids, held July 20 at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown Campus.
The event, hosted by the Chatham-Kent Farm Safety Association and Progressive Agriculture, is geared to children aged, six to twelve.
Janet Richards, co-ordinator of the event, says it was also a day of celebration as this was the 20th annual edition of the farm safety day.
The children are divided into groups that rotate between several stations where they learn about potentially dangerous activities.
This year’s event included eight safety stations, covering diverse topics such as bike safety, sun safety, lawn mower safety, staying safe around creeks and bike safety.
One of the highlights was the fire safety station, where firefighters from the Orford-Highgate fire station showed the kids how to use a fire extinguisher.
On The Lookout For A New Crop Pest
Hannah Fraser at Southwest Crop Diagnostic Days
Farmers could soon be facing a new insect threat in Ontario.
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs entomologist Hannah Fraser says crop specialists are keeping close tabs on an insect called the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug.
Fraser says the bug, which is native to Asia, has a wide range of host plants, including tree fruits and field crops.
The pest was first spotted in North America ten years ago in Pennsylvania.
Since then, Fraser says the bug has spread to 27 States and is now making inroads into Ontario as it was recently detected in an urban area around Hamilton.
Play clip: Or download clip: Hannah Fraser
Reducing Lodging Problems In Ontario Wheat
Peter Johnson, Southwest Crop Diagnostic Days - July 2011
In the quest to help boost Ontario wheat yields, provincial cereal crops specialist Peter Johnson is turning his attention to lodging problems in the crop.
At the Southwest Crop Diagnostic Days in Ridgetown, Johnson reviewed the research that shows a good yield increase by applying a fungicide and increasing nitrogen rates.
However, too much nitrogen can cause lodging, which offsets the increased yield potential.
In this clip, Johnson says crop researchers are taking a closer look at the use of growth regulators to reduce lodging in the Ontario wheat crop.
Play Clip:
Or download Peter Johnson clip: Peter Johnson SCDD
Loblaw Partners With Cattle Feeders To Offer Ontario Beef
Rodney Koning
Loblaw Companies and the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association have teamed up to boost sales of Ontario Corn Fed Beef across the province.
Several Loblaw executives and members of the OCFA were on hand to officially introduce the new partnership during an event on May 25, at Tremblett’s value-mart in Toronto.
The deal involves more than 150 Zehrs Markets, valu-mart, Your Independent Grocer and Bloor Street Market grocery stores in Ontario.
“While we have always supported Canadian beef, this new partnership means the vast majority of beef available in these 150 stores will be produced by farmers from Ontario,” said Rodney Koning, vice-president of Meat and Seafood Procurement for Loblaw.
“Consumers will now be able to easily identify and purchase Ontario beef.”
Koning said the Ontario Corn Fed Beef program offers several benefits for both the retailer and consumers.
Play Clip:
Or download clip: Rodney_Koning
Showing Up Against The Conflict Industry
Bruce Vincent
A logger from Montana has a word of advice to help Ontario livestock farmers deal with those who are opposed to their type of business.
Bruce Vincent believes that “activism” should appear on a line in the farm business plan.
He made the comment during his keynote presentation at the 2011 Beef Industry Convention in London (Jan.6).
Vincent has become a well-travelled speaker on the impact of the “timber wars” between loggers and environmentalists in the United States.
Sharing his experience as the co-owner of a family logging company in Libby, Montana, he said people in the timber industry lost their social licence to operate.
“We’re crossing the thin line between environmental sensitivity and environmental insanity,” said Vincent as he explained how “eco-activists” are wielding more influence in the political discussions in rural America.
Not only did opponents of the timber industry build legal and regulatory cases that protected wildlife and the environment, Vincent said the provisions put logging companies out of business.
Family Harmony vs. Family Conflicts
Dr. Ron Hanson
Back by popular demand, Dr. Ron Hanson, an agri-business professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, brought his honest and entertaining approach for dealing with family farm succession matters to the Beef Industry Convention, hosted by the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association.
Hanson, who teaches full-time at the University of Nebraska, counsels family farm operations in his spare time.
He shared his valuable insight during his presentation on Multi-Generation Farm Family Beef Cattle Operations: Family Harmony vs. Family Conflicts.
So why can multi-generation farming work so well in some families while others have to struggle?
In his 32 years of counseling, Hanson said he can trace every farm family failure (these families are no longer farming today) to one of seven mistakes.
And these failures between family members, he said, did not result from production failures or financial troubles, but the inability of the family members to effectively communicate and work together in a team effort approach to their farming business.
Breaking Ontario Wheat Yield Barriers
David Hooker and Jonathan Brinkman
The interaction of fungicides and increased nitrogen rates could be the key to pushing Ontario’s average wheat yields to 100 bushels per acre.
Researchers have been studying the relationship of the two practices over the past three years in a project known as the SMART wheat trials – with SMART standing for Strategic Management, Adding Revenue Today.
Dr. David Hooker of the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown campus and OMAFRA cereal crop specialist Peter Johnson presented the results of the SMART trials at the 2011 Southwest Agricultural Conference in Ridgetown.
“Not only do we need to look at the yield gains, but we also need to look at the profit,” said Dr. Hooker, referring to the concept of ‘adding revenue’ to the management strategy.
Whereas fungicide and nitrogen applications have been researched individually, the synergy of the two inputs has not been studied before in Ontario.
“We need to include everything in these research practices because plants don’t respond to one thing; they’ll respond to a system of things and we need to start doing more of that in our research,” said Hooker.
Agriculture’s Time To Shine
Alastair Summerlee
The president of the University of Guelph says it’s time for agriculture to take centre stage to face the significant problems of a changing world.
Dr. Alastair Summerlee was the keynote speaker at the Southwest Agricultural Conference in Ridgetown Jan. 5.
Summerlee says food production must increase by 100 per cent in the next 50 years to meet the demands of a growing population.
Play clip:
Or download clip: summerlee1
Furthermore, he says the challenge to double food production comes at a time when urban growth is reducing the amount of agricultural land available for growing crops and raising livestock.
Summerlee says seventy per cent of the new food will have to come from innovation as well as increasing production and yields across the world.
Play clip:
Or download clip: summerlee2
He says farmers, the agriculture industry and universities will have major roles to play in meeting the challenges.
Summerlee also says agriculture is ushering in a new era as people are realizing the importance of farming in the developed world.
In Ontario, he says agriculture is a key economic driver, surpassing manufacturing and health care as the province’s largest employer.
Investment Funds Amplify Grain Market Moves
Stephen Kell
Outside investment in the agricultural commodity markets could heavily influence crop prices in 2011.
Grain trader Stephen Kell of Parish and Heimbecker told farmers attending the recent Southwest Ag Conference in Ridgetown to pay close attention to the investment funds this year.
Kell says traditional ag market fundamentals like weather and export demand will continue to set the direction for prices. But he says the amount of investment money in the market will amplify the gains or losses.
Play clip:
Or download clip: Kell1
Kell says the recent interest of hedge and index funds in the market is actually a positive factor for grain farmers.
He notes that the funds are interested in the ag commodity markets because they’re a hedge against inflation.
Play Clip:
Or download clip: Kell2
As for what to expect in 2011, Kell says fund managers will continue to buy ag commodities, especially if they’re worried about the U.S. dollar declining or the economy overheating from government stimulus spending.
Play clip:
Or download clip: Kell3
Exciting Lineup for 2011 Beef Industry Convention
The 13th Annual Ontario Beef Industry Convention features a dynamic lineup of speakers.
Hosted by the Ontario Cattle Feeders’ Association, the event will be held January 6-8, 2011 at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn in London.
The Convention is renowned for bringing all sectors of Ontario’s beef business together to celebrate the industry while providing valuable insight into the challenges ahead.
Bruce Vincent
The list of speakers includes Bruce Vincent, a third generation logger from Libby, Montana. Bruce helped form and is currently serving as President of Communities For A Great Northwest, Executive Director of Provider Pals and is co-owner of Environomics.
