Local, Regional, Canadian News
PEIFA 76th Annual General Meeting
Are you planning to attend? Please call or email Jennifer at jmurphy@peifa or 902-368-7289 to pre-register and help us plan.
Friday, January 27, 2017 – Confederation Centre of the Arts Agenda
Meeting Costs: Members free – Non-Members $25.00
Excellence in Agriculture Banquet: Members $40.00 – Non-Members $45.00
Snow slows down firefighters
It took three fire departments three hours to put out a barn fire on the Bonshaw Road, west of Charlottetown, during a snowstorm this weekend. MORE
No slowing down for Charlottetown Farmers Market
The Charlottetown Farmers Market ended another solid year on a good note, and things look promising for 2017. MORE
When fat is good: P.E.I. cow sets new fat record
A cow from Belmont, P.E.I. has broken her own record for fat production during a single lactation period. MORE
Carbon tax could be ‘disaster’ for Islanders, NDP says
Provincial NDP Leader Mike Redmond says something has to be done to combat climate change, but has concerns with how the province will spend money collected from a carbon tax. MORE
Minister MacAulay in U.S. to highlight importance of strong bilateral agricultural trade
The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, delivered a keynote address yesterday at the Legislative Agriculture Chairs Summit of the State Agriculture and Rural Leaders (SARL) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. MORE
Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey conducted by Corporate Research Associates Inc. (CRA) and sponsored by TD Canada Trust.
CRA has been conducting a Consumer Confidence Index in the region for the last twenty-five years and felt the time was right to have a business perspective on the economy in Atlantic Canada. CRA will produce a Business Confidence Index for each of the four Atlantic provinces and the region overall for comparison purposes.
We would encourage all our members to simply clink on the link below and help us build our own Business Confidence Index. Please be assured that all individual company responses will be treated in complete confidence and only aggregated data will be reported. The survey will only be opened until Wednesday, January 11, 2017. Why not take a few moments and complete the survey now. This survey is only open to those in the private sector.
To complete the survey click on the following link: https://surveys.cra.ca/s/112297/?assn&l=en
Should you have any questions on the survey, or require assistance accessing or completing the survey, please do not hesitate to contact Corporate Research Associates at surveys@cra.ca.
To view the summary report of the inaugural Atlantic Business Confidence Index, click here.
Livestock
No TB quarantines lifted over holidays
None of the 50 ranch properties still under federal quarantine for bovine tuberculosis in southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan have been released in the past two weeks, officials reported Thursday. MORE
Identify and Diagnose PI Calves to Reduce BVD Shedding
Bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus can have a severe negative impact on the reproductive efficiency of cow-calf herds. MORE
CME live cattle futures mostly firmer
Most Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts gained modestly on Friday after some investors sold February futures and bought deferred months prior to similar moves next week, said traders. MORE
Interactive 2016 Beef Board Annual Report Highlights Results
The 2016 Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) Annual Report now is available to provide results of Beef Checkoff Programs to the beef producers and importers who invest in this national self-help programme. MORE
US Beef Resumes Top Place in Imports
US beef recently became the most popular imported beef in South Korea, outranking Australian beef for the first time in 13 years, a tally showed Sunday. MORE
Stewardship Policy Reduces Antimicrobial Use on Farms
Evidence suggests the frequent use of certain antimicrobials (AM) in food-producing animals may reduce their effectiveness as treatments for both animals and humans. MORE
Govt Stocks Red Meat, Chicken for Norouz
Close to 25,000 tons of red meat and 50,000 tons of chicken have been stocked to adjust prices in the domestic market, says the CEO of Livestock Affairs Support Company, affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture. MORE
Kyrgyzstani Milk, Meat Exporters Barred from Transporting Goods to Russia
Kyrgyzstan is no longer allowed to transport its goods to Russia by road through the territory of Kazakhstan, Advisor to the Director of the Veterinary and Phytosanitary Safety Inspectorate Tolonbek Yrsaliyev told Tazabek on 6 January. MORE
IFA Criticises Ag Department for Interference in Live Valuation Scheme
IFA Animal Health Chairman Bert Stewart has strongly criticised the Department of Agriculture for its interference with the independence of the live valuation scheme, and the resulting under-valuation of animals removed as TB reactors from farms. MORE
Free On-demand Webinar Shares How to Diagnose Paratuberculosis
Watch Thermo Fisher Scientific’s free on-demand webinar and discover how to accurately diagnose paratuberculosis with the right combination of diagnostic tests. MORE
Canadian Exchange Rate Expected to be Main Driver of Agricultural Profitability in 2017
The Chief Agricultural Economist with Farm Credit Canada expects the low Canadian dollar to be the primary driver for profitability for Canadian agriculture in 2017, writes Bruce Cochrane. MORE
Research Shows Less Than 50 Per Cent of Piglets Consume Creep Feed
It is known that providing pre-wean piglets with creep feed can ease the transition from an all milk diet, to an all solids diet. MORE
Focus Farm Project Yields Positive Results
Just six months in, the AHDB Pork Focus Farm has achieved a 61 per cent reduction in pre-weaning mortality. MORE
Early Uplift in Pig Prices Expected
As we enter 2017, farmers are expecting an uplift in prices early in the year and stable pig prices for 2017 to give pig farmers a chance to recoup the loses of the past 18 months, Chairman of the Irish Farmers Association Pigs Committee Tom Hogan has said. MORE
UK Pig Semen Heads to India for Pork Quality Improvement
Pig semen from the UK has been used for the first time in India to improve its breeding stock and produce better quality pork. MORE
Atlantic Stockyards Market Report – January 5 HERE
*Scroll down to find current report
Ontario Cattlemen’s Association Market Report – Friday, January 6 HERE
Potatoes
Fungicide cleared to curb verticillium wilt in potatoes
A label expansion for Syngenta’s Aprovia fungicide, to cover additional soil-borne potato diseases, makes it the first fungicide in Canada approved to suppress verticillium wilt in potatoes. MORE
Registration Open for Potato Conference in Idaho
The 49th annual Potato Conference, sponsored by the University of Idaho, and the 38th Ag Expo will take place on the Idaho State University camp in Pocatello, January 18 – 19. MORE
Niche potatoes boost potato demand in Sweden
Potato demand in Sweden has been on the rise in the last two years, despite seeing some setbacks in 2010/11 when reports about the GI (Glycemic Index) were flooding the news, causing consumers to think twice about how potatoes fit into a healthy lifestyle. MORE
Overview European Potato Market
There has been a shortage of potatoes at the heart of the potato processing industry. In Belgium, the harvest has been especially disappointing, resulting in shortages and high prices. MORE
Bangladesh to introduce second GM crop
Three years after the release of Bt Brinjal, Bangladesh is going to get its second genetically modified crop, a disease resistant potato, as scientists have sought government approval for its commercial use. MORE
RAWANDA’S FARMERS PUSH FOR AFFORDABLE IRISH POTATO SEEDS
The soaring prices of Irish potato seeds has left Rawanda’s smallholder farmers lamenting, triggering efforts by different stakeholders to seek a remedy. MORE
AAFC / InfoHort Potato Reports HERE
USDA – Daily National Potato and Onion Report HERE
Crops
North American grain/oilseed review: Canola closes lower ahead of the weekend
ICE Futures Canada canola settled lower ahead of the weekend. MORE
ICE Futures Canada Friday: Canola futures prices lower, barley unchanged HERE
Canola crushers running at full steam
Canadian canola crushers showed no signs of slowing down their record pace over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, with the weekly crush topping 200,000 tonnes for only the second time ever. MORE
Greig: Lessons learned from Ontario crops’ pest pressures
The warmer winter and subsequent drought defined the 2016 cropping season in Ontario, resulting in more disease and insect pressures and then challenges managing them. MORE
Public or private? Both are needed, say wheat breeders
Canada’s wheat breeding remains almost all public, while other jurisdictions have gone all private or to a mixed model MORE
Wheat acreage decline connected to demographics, economics
Making wheat more productive won’t likely boost plantings, but it will help keep the crop in farmers’ rotations, says the WGRF’s Garth Patterson MORE
U.S. grains: Exports pressure corn, soybeans
Chicago Board of Trade corn and soybean futures fell on Friday on signs of weakening demand for U.S. exports as the South American harvest nears, traders said. MORE
AM markets: grain futures gain, as index fund buying looms HERE
PEI Grain Elevator Prices – HERE
Grain Farmers of Ontario – Daily Commodity Report HERE
More Futures Prices HERE and HERE
General Interest
Building a traditional farm for a modern world
Change Makers: Yesterday’s values can still guide their farm today, Jason and Laura Kehler are discovering, but only if those values are re-engineered for efficiency, and for a new business climate MORE
Study says faster Internet speeds not enough
The Rural Development Institute says increasing the culture of use in rural areas is equally important to making faster broadband available MORE
Radical transformation of food system needed
The focus of future investments in the food system must be on nutrition — not calories MORE
Regular Updates
Weekly PEI Agriculture Market Report – December 30 HERE
Rayglen Market Comments – January 5 HERE
Ontario Farm Market Summary – Friday, January 6 HERE
AgWeather Atlantic HERE
Today’s Local Weather – HERE
Meetings and Events
Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey conducted by Corporate Research Associates Inc. (CRA) and sponsored by TD Canada Trust.
CRA has been conducting a Consumer Confidence Index in the region for the last twenty-five years and felt the time was right to have a business perspective on the economy in Atlantic Canada. CRA will produce a Business Confidence Index for each of the four Atlantic provinces and the region overall for comparison purposes.
We would encourage all our members to simply clink on the link below and help us build our own Business Confidence Index. Please be assured that all individual company responses will be treated in complete confidence and only aggregated data will be reported. The survey will only be opened until Wednesday, January 11, 2017. Why not take a few moments and complete the survey now. This survey is only open to those in the private sector.
To complete the survey click on the following link: https://surveys.cra.ca/s/112297/?assn&l=en
Should you have any questions on the survey, or require assistance accessing or completing the survey, please do not hesitate to contact Corporate Research Associates at surveys@cra.ca.
To view the summary report of the inaugural Atlantic Business Confidence Index, click here.
SSDE Industry Engagement Day – January 20, 2017
Our first semester is behind us and it was a tremendous success. During last semester we hosted our first Industry Engagement day and had the great privilege of welcoming well over 100 people to our School of Sustainable Design Engineering. Building on that success, we wish to start the New Year off with good momentum and hold our next Industry Engagement day on the 20th of January 2017. This day will have a specific focus on Bio-Resources and Precision Agriculture.
Goal – Is to gather Industry, Government, and Academia and look for collaboration to advance Bio-Resources and Precision Agriculture. We will also to take the opportunity to introduce the Class of 2017.
Date and time – 20 January 2017 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.
Location – UPEI Campus. 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE.
Agenda
10:00 – Welcome to the Province of Prince Edward Island and to the University
10:10 – Keynote Address from the Province
10:30 – Introduction of the first keynote speaker Dr. John K. Schueller from the University of Florida by Dr. Aitazaz Farooque
10:35 – Key Note address: Precision Agriculture Technologies for Economically and Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture
11:05 – Introduction of the second keynote speaker Dr. Animesh Dutta from the University of Guelph by Dr. Bishnu Acharya
11:30 – Meet the Graduating Class of 2017 – Introduction by Dr. Wayne Peters, the Director of Student Experience
11:35 – Guided tour by the Industry Partnerships Group
12:00 – Lunch (provided – no turkey)/Networking – 60 mins
1:00 – Panel discussion led by the School of Sustainable Design Engineering with keynote speakers and Government/Industry representatives
2:00 – wrap up and thank you by Dr. Nick Krouglicof, Associate Dean of Engineering and Allan Dale, Industry Partnerships Group
Please RSVP to Lisa Sanderson at lmsanderson@upei.ca
