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Agrilink
MORE SOYBEAN ACRES POSSIBLE
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
From StatsCanTotal soybean seeded area could rise 2.5% from 2009 to 3.5 million acres. That word today from Statistics Canada in their March Principal Field Crops Report.
Ontario soybean seeded area should rise by 50,000 acres to 2.5 million acres, while in Quebec, the area seeded to soybeans is reported to remain at the 2009 area of 598,000 acres.
Soybean area in Manitoba is expected to rise 8.4% to a new high of 450,000 acres. By contrast, only 50,000 acres of soybeans was seeded in Manitoba in 2001, when Statistics Canada first began recording this crop. Acreage has been increasing in that province since that time.
Meantime, StatsCan has Ontario's corn acreage up by 90 thousand acres. Both corn and soybean acreage increases seem to be at the expense of winter wheat. Ontario's winter wheat acreage is estimated to be 140 thousand acres less this year.
FARMERS DELIVER MESSAGE TO PARLIAMENT HILL
04/26/10
From a Release
OTTAWA – Dozens of farmers from the counties surrounding Parliament Hill spent Thursday meeting with politicians – MPs, Senators, and their staff – discussing current problems facing agriculture and solutions being proposed.
There were about 40 such meetings as members of county federations of agriculture sat with the politicians to review the issues threatening the farming sector. Bette Jean Crews, President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), said it was a successful event that gave farmers an opportunity to put necessary details into the hands of the politicians and bureaucrats.
It was the fifth such event bringing farmers and politicians face to face to discuss solutions to the issues threatening agriculture – adequate risk management programming to provide a more secure future for farmers and their families and a more secure food supply for Canadians.
“We need to have the Business Risk Management Program funded through a national AgriFlexibility program,” she said. “We also need changes to AgriStability making it retroactive to 2008 so farmers can weather the perfect storm brought on by crises upon crises in recent years.”
The development of a National Food Strategy was also at the top of the list of topics the farmers took to the politicians. Crews said she had a good meeting with Pierre Lemieux, MP for Glengarry, Prescott and Russell, and Parliamentary Secretary to Hon. Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Crews stressed the urgency of adequate Risk Management Programs in place to bring greater stability to the industry for farmers.
The meetings with the politicians and their staff delivered a clear message that farmers are the ones designing the programs they are requesting – farm leaders are elected by farmers to talk to government on behalf of the industry, Crews said.
HAPPY EARTH DAY: FARMERS CELEBRATE EARTH DAY EVERY DAY
04/26/10
From a Release
Ontario’s Farmers release a “Top 10” List of environmental commitments
GUELPH, ONTARIO – Ontario’s farmers released a “Top 10” List to celebrate Earth Day highlighting what farmers have been doing to preserve the environment while they grow our food. Canadians sited the number one reason for buying local food was to support the farmers and the local economy in an Ipsos Reid study commissioned by the Ontario Farm Animal Council in 2009.
“Act local” has no truer meaning than for the people who farm, as their actions impact their own 100 acre backyards directly.
“Everything we do impacts the earth and the environment somehow, whether I’m growing carrots, corn or cattle,” said Wendy Omvlee, a dairy goat farmer from Nanticoke. “The reality is that as farmers our animals, our families and our livelihoods depend on our commitment to take care of our land, air and water.”
Farmers are the true environmentalists with real dirt on their boots and the commitment to practical environmental improvements. Ontario farmers have invested over $600 million of their own money over the past 20 years to better the environment, improve farming practices and help the earth.
“As a mother of six, my legacy to each of my children is to improve the environment on our farm every day – we live, work and play there.” said Amy Cronin, a hog farmer from Listowel. “Earth Day is a time for us to reflect on the improvements we’ve made over the past year on our farm, and to look ahead to what else we can accomplish.”
TOP 10 LIST OF ONTARIO FARMERS’ ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS
Preserving Soil – Our very existence on this planet is dependent on a few inches of topsoil. Over 2/3 of farmers use conservation tilling practices to help preserve that precious resource.
Reducing Greenhouse Gases – The carbon sequestered (saved in the soil) due to conservation tillage in Ontario equals 600 kilotonnes/year. That’s equivalent to taking 125,000 cars off the road each year.
Environmental Farm Plans – Over 70% of Ontario farmers have taken a course, evaluated their farms’ environmental footprint and made improvements.
Earth to Satellite - Our grandfathers couldn’t have dreamed that GPS satellites could map a field to show exactly what fertilizer or chemicals are needed in precise and reduced amounts, or sometimes none at all.
Environment School – Ontario farmers have spent over 300,000 days in environmental training courses.
Bugs can be good – Some farmers buy ‘beneficial insects’ to put in fields or greenhouses to eat the destructive bugs. As always, bees continue to work hard at pollinating plants.
Trees, Trees, Trees – Farmers have planted hundreds of thousands of trees on their land. Whether it’s for windbreaks to protect the soil, to harvest for Christmas, fuel or building, every tree planted is a good thing for so many reasons.
Green Energy – Farms have always been a natural recycling centre and new technology is making that even better. Manure is generating power on some farms and sometimes enough for their neighbours too. Ethanol, biodiesel and solar power are just a few other examples that may help power our future with help from the farm.
Wetlands, Wildlife and Wide Open Spaces – Take a drive in the country and look around. Hundreds of thousands of acres of wildlife habitat and wetlands are on private farmland. Many farmers have worked hard to create, improve or expand those spaces.
Food and the Environment - The farmers’ ultimate challenge is to grow more food on less land to feed more people. There are no easy answers, but farmers keep investing in research, both in labs and on the farm, to continue towards that critically important goal.
Paul Wettlaufer grows crops and raises cattle near Hanover. “You support Ontario farmers when you buy local, and in turn we’re the ones committed to improving the environment here in our own backyard. It’s good for people, animals and our planet.”
For more information on how your food is grown here in Ontario and what farmers are doing to protect our environment, visit www.caringfortheland.com or tour a farm virtually on www.farmissues.com.
SETTLEMENT RENEWS CALL FOR PROVINCIAL TOBACCO ASSISTANCE
04/20/10
From Farms.com
In the wake of another multi-million-dollar tobacco settlement, voices for former tobacco farmers are again clamoring for transitional assistance.
Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett is going to bat again for tobacco farmers on the topic of a provincial settlement. So too is the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers' Marketing Board.
RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. subsidiary Northern Brands International Inc. and JTI-Macdonald Corp. were recently fined $75 million and $150 million, respectively, for contraband tobacco related charges. In addition, R.J. Reynolds will pay the federal, provincial and territorial governments $325 million to deal with claims related to cigarette smuggling.
When Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. and Rothmans Benson and Hedges made a $1.15 billion settlement in 2008, the federal government used part of the funds for the Tobacco Transition Program to eliminate quota. Although the province also received cash from the tobacco companies, it didn't provide the traditional 40 per cent share that is usually provided for agriculture programs.
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To view these articles online, please visit us on the web at
http://www.ridgetownc.com/agrilink/agrilink..._scoops.cfm
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TekTalk
MOLDY CORN PROBLEM ISN'T OVER YET
04/22/10
From the Ohio Farmer
One farmer who reported in recently said his original goal was to keep his corn until May, often a time of higher prices seasonally. But when he heard about all the mold problems and knowing he had some issues, although not severe, he decided to sell. His bins were empty by April 1.
Richard Stroshine would likely consider that a good move. The Purdue University grain quality specialist noted as early as last October that anyone harvesting corn with a mold problem should forget about long-term storage on this year's crop. He warned that bad things could happen if they tried to take the corn into warmer months.
Grain specialists in Ohio are echoing the same comments. In addition, they're adding some new cautions and advice for farmers who dealt with mycotoxins and moldy grain this past season. These new comments are geared toward preventing future problems, not only in corn but potentially in other crops. The same fungus that causes ear mold in corn can cause problems in other field crops.
Pierce Paul, a pathologist at Ohio State University, says to avoid the temptation of spreading moldy grain you can't sell out on a field. "The vomitoxin isn't a problem," he says. "But if there is active fungi on the kernels in the fields, you run the risk of spreading inoculum to this year's crop," he says.
The same fungus that can cause stalk rot and ear rot in corn can cause head scab in wheat. So certainly don't dispose of nay infected grain anywhere near a growing wheat field, he adds. The bottom line is that spreading out moldy grain in a field just increases the chances of spreading spores and causing additional disease problems.
Sorry, your job isn't even finished once you have the moldy grain out of the bin and either sold or discarded properly, Paul says. He recommends washing and scraping the inside of bins to get them clean, and eliminating as much of the fungus as possible. It's also important to get rid of any fines because the level of fungus may be higher in them than in the grain itself.
It's not the threat of mycotoxin lingering you should worry about, Paul says. That won't happen as long as the fungus is completely eliminated.
Anne Dorrance, also a plant pathologist at Ohio State, says it's possible that if the inoculum is really high, this is the same fungus can affect soybean seedlings. Her solution is either applying a seed treatment or using management practices to reduce the inoculum in fields that were badly infected. Those could include chopping stalks or covering the residue with soil.
FAILURE IMMINENT FOR WAAS GEO SATELLITE
04/20/10
From Farms.com
Ed. Note: for you tekies-
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that one of the two WAAS GEO satellites will drift out of usable orbit within two to four weeks. Earlier this week, Intelsat announced it had lost control of its Galaxy 15 satellite that hosts the WAAS SBAS transponder used by the FAA.
The FAA says it is monitoring the satellite, but that failure is imminent. When G-15 is out of usuable orbit, WAAS will be disrupted for users in northwest Alaska. The rest of the WAAS service area — U.S., Canada, Mexico — will operate normally but will be reduced to a single point of failure with only one WAAS broadcasting satellite remaining (PRN 138).
The FAA is investigating at least two alternatives:
1. Utilize Inmarsat 3 (POR) that was previously used by WAAS before switching to Galaxy 15 in 2006. POR is located at 178°E.
2. Accelerate the testing of Inmarsat 4-F3 (PRN 133). Testing is already in progress and due to be complete in December 2010. The FAA stated that there is "potential to implement as an emergency release."
Neither of these two solutions is an immediate one. The FAA stated that integrating POR back into operational WAAS would take 12-16 months. The quickest solution is to accelerate the implementation of PRN 133, of which the FAA said they might be able to shave 1-2 months from the original target date.
The FAA also reported that with only a single WAAS GEO broadcasting satellite, users may experience a temporary loss of service 3-5 times this year for up to five minutes each while WAAS Uplink Station Switchovers occur.
It's fortunate for WAAS users that PRN 135 is the problem instead of PRN 138, which is more centrally located in the WAAS service area at 107°W.
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To view these articles online, please visit us on the web at
http://www.ridgetownc.com/agrilink/agrilink_...tektalk.cfm
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AgriLink Upcoming Events
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Event - An Introduction to Large Animal Rescue For Horse Owners and Emergency Responders Date - May 1, 2010 Time - 9:00 AM Place - REACH Huron in Clinton Website - http://www.reachhuron.ca/reachcourses.cfm#LAR
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Event - RABIES VACCINATION CLINIC Date - May 15, 2010 Time - 9:30 AM Place - Oil Springs Fire Hall 4589 Oil Springs Line Contact Name - 519 383-8331, toll free 1-800-667-1839 Website - www.lambtonhealth.on.ca
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Event - “The Power of Prairie” Tallgrass Prairie for Biofuel Conference Date - May 25, 2010 Time - 9:00 AM Place - Ridgetown Campus, University of Guelph Contact Name - Wendy Kubinec @ 519-354-1588 Email - wendy.kubinec@ontario.ca
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Event - RABIES VACCINATION CLINIC Date - May 29, 2010 Time - 9:30 AM Place - Enniskillen Township Public Works Garage 4465 Rokeby Line Contact Name - 519 383-8331, toll free 1-800-667-1839 Website - www.lambtonhealth.on.ca
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Event - Growing Forward Business Development for Farm Businesses - Information Session Date - May 31, 2010 Time - 9:30 AM Place - Ridgetown Campus, University of Guelph Contact Name - OMAFRA’s Agricultural Information Contact Centre (AICC) at 1-877-424-1300 Website - http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/gfwd...-advbus.htm
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Event - CAFA’s 6th Annual Ontario Conference Date - June 1,2010 to June 2, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Stratford Website - www.cafanet.com
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Event - CAFA’s 6th Annual Ontario Provincial Conference Date - June 1,2010 to June 2, 2010 Place - River Garden Inn, Stratford Contact Name - Liz Robertson, M.A.
CAFA Executive Director, 1-877-474-2871
Email - info@cafanet.com Website - www.cafanet.com
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Event - Annual Ontario Pork Congress Date - June 23,2010 to June 24, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Stratford Website - www.porkcongress.on.ca
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Event - Soil & Water Management Workshop Date - June 29, 2010 Place - London-St. Thomas area Contact Name - Woodstock OMAFRA Resource Centre, 519-537-6621 Alt Contact Name - Agricultural Information Contact Centre, 1-877-424-1300
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Event - SouthWest Crop Diagnostic Day Date - July 7,2010 to July 8, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Ridgetown Campus, University of Guelph Website - www.diagnosticdays.ca
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Event - Progressive Agriculture / Chatham-Kent Farm Safety Day Date - July 21, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Ridgetown Campus, University of Guelph Contact Name - Sue Kelner 519-674-1584 Email - skelner@ridgetwonc.uoguelph.ca
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Event - Outdoor Farm Show Date - September 14,2010 to March 16, 2010 Time - 1:00 PM Place - Woodstock Canada's Outdoor Park Website - http://www.outdoorfarmshow.com/
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Event - International Plowing Match & Farm Machinery Show Date - September 21,2010 to September 25, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Elgin – St. Thomas Website - http://www.ipm2010.com/
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Event - Royal Winter Fair Date - November 5,2010 to November 14, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Exhibition Place, Toronto Website - www.royalfair.org
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To view these listings online, please visit us on the web at
http://www.ridgetownc.com/agrilink/agrilink..._events.cfm
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John Jordan
Editor, AgriLink and Farm Market News
University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus
Tel. 519-674-1577
Fax. 519-674-1530
E-mail: jjordan@ridgetownc.uoguelph.ca
AgriLink website : www.ridgetownc.com/agrilink
