cktimes.ca Archives for Agrilink
Agrilink
MINISTER PROVIDES CLARITY ON HOG MARKETING
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Guelph, May 14, 2010 – The Honourable Carol Mitchell, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, has concluded her ministerial review of an Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal ruling from February 2010 regarding pork marketing and by all accounts supports an open marketing option for producers.“We have been in favour of producers having choice in marketing and this decision gives us the clarity we need to move forward,” says Wilma Jeffray, Chair of Ontario Pork. “The submission that we prepared for the Minister’s review certainly gives us a head start in fulfilling the requirements of the decision.
The organization has its first meeting with the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission early next week where it will begin to work out the details of the decision. The Ontario Pork Board will meet at the beginning of June to discuss next steps and assess the implementation strategy.
FOOD SCIENTIST DEVELOPS WAY TO REDUCE FOOD ALLERGIES
05/11/10
From the University of Guelph
A University of Guelph food scientist has discovered a way to help children build a tolerance to food allergies.
Prof. Yoshinori Mine found that mice predisposed to an egg allergy became desensitized to the allergen after repeatedly ingesting only a portion of the protein known to trigger the allergic reaction.
“By ingesting only the peptides and not the whole protein, the body suppresses the urge to react,” said Mine. “After repeated exposure, the body learns to accept the protein instead of trying to defend itself against it. This approach has huge promise for humans for providing a safer more convenient approach to dealing with allergies in children.”
Six to eight per cent of children in North America have some type of food allergy, with the most common being milk, eggs and nuts.
“Food allergies are a serious concern for parents, and it’s something that is difficult for them to manage,” he said. “Currently, doctors tell the parents to remove these foods from their child’s diet, but removing foods like eggs and milk can be nearly impossible. I wanted to find another solution.”
Children are more susceptible to developing allergies because their gut immune system is still developing and cannot digest certain proteins, said Mine.
Because these proteins aren’t digested, they move immediately into the bloodstream due to children’s immature gut barrier system. Sometimes the body will react to these proteins as foreign and initiate its defence system, which results in an allergic reaction.
About 50 per cent of children with a food allergy will outgrow it by the time they are five, but for some reason, the other 50 per cent are unable to develop a tolerance on their own, he adds.
“No one has been able to explain why some children don’t outgrow the allergic response. This research is aimed at helping them develop tolerance.”
In his study, recently published in the journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy, Mine uses a mouse model he developed that has an allergy to eggs.
Just like humans, these mice react with allergy symptoms ranging from a rash to death from anaphylaxis when fed eggs.
As part of the study, he fed the mice multiple peptides of the egg protein that spurs allergic reactions. After six weeks, he had the mice ingest the whole protein, which is what a child would ingest when eating eggs.
Mine then monitored the mice for visible signs of an allergic reaction and also took blood and tissue samples to test the animals’ levels of histamine and immunoglobulin E - substances produced by the body to induce allergic reactions.
Results showed that 80 per cent of the mice did not react and the other 20 per cent experienced only a mild allergic reaction.
“When ingested, the multiple peptides help stimulate the body to make T-suppressor lymphocytes specific for allergen suppression. These lymphocytes retrain the body not to react to allergic substances.”
The next steps are to introduce this technique in human clinical trials and develop a way the peptide can be administered orally, said Mine.
“I would like to find a way to incorporate the peptide into foods such as cookies so it will be appealing to young children.”
He also plans to develop this approach so it can be applied to peanut, milk and other food allergies.
AGRICULTURE HAS MANY PARTNERS
05/14/10
This week's guest commentary is from Mark Wales, Vice-President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Ontario farmers have many partners they work with as an important part of the success of our farming business. The most obvious are the federal and provincial governments, the banks, spouses and the weather office.
But Municipal governments also play an integral role in how a farm is operated, and how successful it can become. Establishing municipal property taxes and collecting those taxes are important factors bearing heavily on the bottom lines of many farming operations.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is a strong supporter of the current farm property class tax rate program, and urges the provincial government to maintain the system. It is administratively simple and remains the preferred method for recognizing appropriate property taxation of farmland.
Having said that, OFA also recognizes that the Ontario government has not provided an adequate transfer of funds to municipalities under the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund.
With this in mind, OFA is prepared to work with ROMA – the Rural Ontario Municipal Association – to maintain the current farm property class tax rate system. Doing this, we believe there is hope to secure sufficient funding revenues for our municipalities that are the communities of our farm businesses.
Municipal representatives also truly appreciate the importance of agriculture within their communities. Our recent Stratford Town Hall meeting demonstrated the commitment of municipal officials to the work of the OASC – telling the story of the important economic, environmental and social contribution of farming to our rural landscape.
Our coalition will be working closely with our municipal leaders to continue to emphasize the importance of sustainable farms and the objectives of the Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition (OASC) – securing better risk management programming for farmers.
The OFA and our commodity partners are also striving for a broad definition of farming practices. The definition of farming and farming practices has evolved and expanded due to changes in technology and market specifications. There’s every likelihood this evolution will continue.
Consequently, OFA has requested OMAFRA work with agriculture and Ontario’s farmers to develop a broad definition of farming practices. Such a broad definition could be made available to other ministries – labour as an example – and municipalities when they need to establish what practices are ‘farming’ to ensure a consistent and competitive approach to farming enterprises.
Development charges levied by municipalities on new farm buildings are a concern for OFA and farmers across Ontario. Many municipalities have chosen to exempt agricultural buildings and structures from these charges.
However, subsequent bylaws may take a different view and omit the existing exemptions for agricultural buildings and structures unless farmers and municipal councillors are constantly vigilant. To avoid this situation and the unnecessary hearings that could follow, OFA wants to work with municipalities for a province-wide exemption for agricultural buildings.
Another area where farmers and municipal councils will interact is with Source Water Protection regulations. OFA is concerned about who will end up paying for the implementation of Source Water Protection Plans. The province has agreed that it will pay for developing these plans, but then leaves it to the municipalities for implementation.
This could open the door for a hefty levy on farmers, and OFA would oppose such a development.
Farm drainage is a critical element of Ontario agriculture. The associated drainage regulations again require farmers and municipalities to work together. OFA and the farmers it represents want a more efficient drainage approval process. We believe this can happen if municipalities and the drainage superintendents get involved with OFA and the farmers. We believe the same collaboration needs to happen, in particular, around the issues arising from the species at risk regulations.
Good solutions that enable sustainable and profitable farms are out there. It’s a matter of farmers coming together with the right partners. We look forward to working closely with our municipal leaders on the right solutions for our communities and our farms.
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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
BINS CONSTIPATED?
05/17/10
This week's TekTalk comes from Helmut Spieser - Engineer, Field Crop Conditioning and Environment/OMAFRA Ridgetown
The 2009 corn harvest went on way too long in some parts of Ontario. Combines were still running into February and even March of this year. An extended harvest and lackluster quality combined to frustrate growers to the point of them saying enough is enough. Once the corn was off the field they had run out of patience and resigned themselves to deal with the corn later. Well, later is now!
Definition of Constipation - irregular and infrequent or difficult evacuation of the contents; can be a symptom of an obstruction
"Empty Auger Rattle"
Last year's corn was different. It did not handle, dry or store as we would have expected. Fines were generated every time the corn was moved or handled. 2009 was definitely the year to core your bins after filling. Routine monitoring was essential to notice situations before they became problems. Calls have already come in about corn that has stopped flowing from the centre sump. A switch was made to the intermediate sump. Corn then stopped flowing from the intermediate or emergency sump. You might think this person did not do certain things.
* The corn was high temperature dried.
* The corn was cooled in the dryer.
* The corn was cleaned before going into storage.
* The silo was cored after it was filled.
* Corn was routinely aerated through the winter.
* Corn had been removed three times this winter; 1500, 800 and 450 bushels.
* Corn quality is still Grade 2.
This person did everything he should have done to prevent problems. Even so, he is forced to figure out some way to get the corn moving again. After three days of aerating and some work with a large air compressor, the corn is again moving.
This true life example shows that doing everything possible to prevent problems does not mean you won't have difficulties getting the corn out of the bin. If you have not moved corn out of your bins this winter at all, prepare for some frustration. The material blocking the unloading sump could be any one or some combination of the following.
* frozen chunk of corn
* frozen chunk of fines
* bridging above the unloading sump from fines
* crusty material covering the sump
The 2009 corn is not the crop you want to use to win any long-term storage contests. Because of its fragile nature, this corn crop does not have the shelf life we would normally expect it to have. I would suggest you plan to empty these corn bins before the end of summer.
Grain flow problems may occur as the 2009 corn is unloaded from storage bins. General poor corn quality and increased levels of fines may be the culprits.
Figure 1. Grain flow problems may occur as the 2009 corn is unloaded from storage bins. General poor corn quality and increased levels of fines may be the culprits.
Before the Truck Arrives
Test your unloading system to see that it functions well and corn is flowing into the unloading auger before the truck comes to pick up corn. Unloading problems will lead to delays in getting the truck loaded. These unforeseen delays will upset the trucker's schedule. Grain pickup may have to be rescheduled. Run some loads into your own hopper wagons to ensure corn is flowing well into the unloading auger. You may want to aerate your bin before unloading if you froze the corn last winter. This may make the corn more mellow and have less of a tendency to plug the unloading sump(s).
Safety First
The quality and consistency of the 2009 corn could lead to flow problems in the bin during the unloading process. As people try to determine the cause of these flow problems in the bin, they may be exposing themselves to unseen risks caused by cavities formed by bridging of the grain surface. When these cavities collapse, entrapment and suffocation are real risks. Wear a safety harness and lifeline when entering bins and have a spotter watching from outside the bin. The higher than normal level of fines in the corn will allow bridging of grain to occur as well as grain to stand vertically against the bin wall.
Safety Checklist
- never enter a bin alone
- wear a safety harness secured to the outside bin ladder
- never enter bins to dislodge standing grain buildups or wall accumulations
- use a long pole to dislodge grain from outside bin
- use an electrical lockout on the unloading auger control
- know the history of the bin contents, what was removed and when
- look for a draw down cone
- don't walk on grain surface if draw down cone not evident
- use an N95 or N99 respirator to protect against dust and mould spores
- develop an accident response plan
COLD TEMPERATURES INFLICT SOME DAMAGE
05/17/10
From Greg Stewart, OMAFRA Corn Specialist
Temperatures across many parts of the corn growing areas dipped on Sunday and Monday (May 9-10, 2010) into the -1 to - 4 C range near the soil surface. Frost injury has been noted on many fields. For corn that was in the spike to three leaf stage it appears that much of the green tissue has been damaged down to, or close to the soil line. These leaves will eventually take on a lighter, straw colour. This is superficial damage to the corn plant as the growing point of the plant will be unaffected since it is still below the surface of the soil. There have not been any reports of temperatures getting low enough to freeze down to the growing point (positioned roughly 2 cm below surface). The damaged leaves will be lost but will be replaced with new leaves. We anticipate that that replanting requirements or yield reductions due to this leaf loss will be very minor.
Other consideration
Where herbicide applications are scheduled, it is prudent to give corn that has experienced frost damage a couple of days to recover before spraying. If spraying after cool nights (< 10 C) spray in the morning when corn has a chance to metabolize the herbicide during warmer day temperatures.
Potential Damage by Frost
Hopefully this is our first and last early growing season frost for 2010. But if not, here are some additional reminders. The potential for damage to your corn crop by freezing temperatures increases significantly in the lower lying portions of fields or farms. Colder air "drains" into these areas, displaces the warmer air and puts the corn at increasing risk. The principal factor that prevents frost damage to corn, as air temperatures drop to the freezing mark or below, is the ability for heat to be radiated from the soil back to the corn plant. Anything that interferes with this heat transfer from the soil to the plant will increase the potential for frost damage.
1. Thus the following are most often observed as factors which contribute to frost damage in corn:
inter-row cultivation or anhydrous ammonia applications: looser surface soils tend to insulate against heat transfer from the soil
2. dry soils: drier soils have a lower heat capacity than wetter soils thus lowering the potential for warming the air at the soil surface
3. poor weed control, grassed water ways, field edges, etc.: any vegetation insulates against heat transfer from the soil
4. crop residue on the soil surface: although reduced tillage systems often result in firmer, damper soils which might increase soil heat transfer the crop residues on the soil surface often prevent this heat from getting to the corn plant
5. the other potential promoter of frost damage in corn that has been suggested, which has nothing to do with heat transfer from the soil, is the application of herbicides immediately prior to the frost event.
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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 - “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 - Southern Ontario Draft Horse Basic Workshop Date - August 12,2010 to August 14, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Sparta near St. Thomas at Orchard Hill Farm Contact Name - Ken Laing, 519-775-2670 Email - kmlaing@orchardhillfarm.ca Website - www.orchardhillfarm.ca
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Event - Is the Coast Clear? – 6th Annual Conference on Lake Huron coastal environment Date - August 20, 2010 Time - 9:00 AM Place - Oakwood Conference Centre, Grand Bend Website - www.lakehuron.ca
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Event - Southern Ontario Draft Horse Basic Workshop Date - September 9,2010 to September 11, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - Sparta near St. Thomas at Orchard Hill Farm Contact Name - Ken Laing, 519-775-2670 Email - kmlaing@orchardhillfarm.ca Website - www.orchardhillfarm.ca
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Event - Outdoor Farm Show Date - September 14,2010 to September 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 - WOMEN IN AGRI-BUSINESS SYMPOSIUM Date - October 13, 2010 Time - 8:30 AM Place - Springfield Golf & Country Club 2054 Gordon St. Guelph, ON Contact Name - (519) 821-4655,
Fitzgerald & Co., 39 William Street, Elmira, ON N3B 1P3 or Fax: 519-669-3826
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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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Event - Agr. & Rural Energy Expo Date - November 6,2010 to November 7, 2010 Time - All Day Event Place - REACH Huron in Clinton Website - www.reachhuron.ca
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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
