PEIFA / Island Lime / PEI Agromart Scholarship
$2000 Scholarship to be awarded – Application Deadline is July 1st. DETAILS and APPLICATION
Local, Regional, Canadian News
PEI Heritage Fair – Ag Project Winner
Congratulations to Max MacIsaac for his winning agriculture project at the PEI Heritage Fair on May 19th. MORE
New Agriculture Environment Officer Unit
This year, a new Agriculture Environment Officer (AEO) unit has been established to work directly with farmers. This Unit will take a compliance-focused, risk-based approach to environment requirements. MORE
MICHAEL SMITH PROMOTES POTATOES
The famous Canadian chef is standing up for spuds in a Twitter party to be held May 26. MORE
Poultry Layer Barn Open House
John Dennis from Port Hill Farm invites you to an Open House, on Saturday, May 28, from 11 am to 4 pm. The farm is located at 160 Green Park Road, Tyne Valley, PEI.
The new layer barn features the Farmer Automatic innovative enriched or aviary housing system COMBI II, a technology new to PEI. As well, new EDGE technology will enable the farm to monitor and manage ventilation, cooling heating, feeding and watering systems from a single controller using one interface. EDGE is an advanced new control system and platform for handling all of the operational functions in a livestock production environment. This technology is also adaptable to hog and dairy barns.
The project was funded in part under the Canada-PEI Growing Forward 2 Innovative Technologies sub-Program.
All are welcome to come and view the equipment, meet with industry experts, and enjoy some refreshments.
Princess Auto BBQ May 31st in Support of PEI Progressive Agriculture Safety Day
The PEI Federation of Agriculture is hosting an opening day BBQ at the Princess Auto store in Charlottetown on Tuesday, May 31st from 11am-1pm. This event is in support of Progressive Agriculture Foundation Safety Days. The PEIFA has hosted Safety Days the past number of years for Island youth and all donations from the BBQ will go towards our next Safety Day taking place in September. Watch HERE to see what our Safety Days are all about!:
Please come join us for lunch and show your support!!
Prince Edward Island Sheep Breeders’ Association Continuing Education
June 06 – Rodd Royalty Hotel – Charlottetown – Registration begins at 1:00 PM
Join us for a training session that will qualify your farm operation for funding under the Agriculture Livestock Enhancement Program / Small Ruminant Enhancement Project (Sheep and Goats) MORE
Livestock
Assessing the first quarter – cattle inventories disappointing
At the end of the first quarter the domestic steer slaughter was down 2.3 per cent while the domestic heifer slaughter was down 9.1 per cent. MORE
Cattle markets take a downturn
U.S. herd expansion and a rising dollar mean the Canadian cattle market is taking a hit, says Anne Wasko MORE
CME: US Beef Exports Gain Ground in Japan, South Korea
USDA has released its weekly ‘US Export Sales’ report and the data presented a somewhat mixed picture for pork and beef, write Steve Meyer and Len Steiner. MORE
U.S. livestock: Hogs up on pork gains, short-covering
CME cattle gain on technical buying, short-covering MORE
CME: Summer Hog Future Contract Down
Fed cattle futures have been hit pretty hard in recent days, with the August contract down by almost 700 points (-6 per cent) in the last four trading sessions. Hog futures have not fared much better. The summer hog futures contracts (Jun, Jul, Aug) are down as much as 5 per cent from where they were trading in mid May, write Steve Meyer and Len Steiner. MORE
Wanted: Sustainable suppliers
When McDonald’s—the fast-food behemoth that serves 75 hamburgers every second—announced two years ago it would begin sourcing some of its beef from “sustainable” sources by 2016, a lot of cowboys became skeptical. More suspicions were raised in cattle country when it was learned McDonald’s chose Canada for the company’s pilot project to identify and certify sustainable suppliers. MORE
Atlantic Stockyards Weekly Market Report – May 26 HERE
*Scroll down the page to find the report
Ontario Cattlemen’s Association Market Report – Thursday, May 26 HERE
Potatoes
Tackling the yield challenge
In 2013, eastern Canadian potato growers were concerned: they were not seeing the yield increases experienced by growers throughout the rest of North America. Manitoba has seen an average yield increase of 4.4 hundredweight per acre (cwt/acre) each year. By contrast, New Brunswick sits at an average yield increase of 1.4 cwt/acre, and P.E.I. at 1.1 cwt/acre. MORE
Manitoba potato growers brace for wireworm issue
The loss of Lindane then Thimet has resulted in growing and booming wireworm populations across Canada MORE
New ‘Focus on Potato’ Webcast Helps Potato Growers Minimize the Spread of Blackleg
Blackleg, caused by strains of soft rot bacteria known as Dickyea, has traditionally had little impact on North American potato production, but it now appears to be on the move throughout Europe and could increasingly threaten growers in the Eastern United States. MORE
Uganda’s new, improved disease-resistant Irish potato variety
A new improved Victoria type of potato has been developed at the Kachwekano Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (KaZARDI) of the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) near Kabale. The disease-resistant Irish potato variety was produced via biotechnology and is said to be able to ensure high yields for food security and income generation. MORE
Odisha potato prices high
On the basis of a Horticulture Department field report, Odisha’s state government decided not to procure potato this year. The state steering committee has a buffer stock of 4,500 tonnes of potato to be used for market intervention in case of an emergency, but currently consumers have been left at the mercy of market forces. Prices have been high for consumers since the commodity entered the market. MORE
Weekly Michigan Potato Report – May 25 HERE
AAFC / InfoHort Potato Reports HERE
USDA – Daily National Potato and Onion Report HERE
Crops
PEI Grain Elevator
Starting May 24th until harvest starts – Plant shipping & receiving hours are Monday to Friday 7:30 am to 4:00 pm
ICE Futures Canada Thursday: Canola futures prices lower, barley unchanged MORE
AM markets: grains dip, as calendar encourages profit-taking HERE
Soy hits new highs on Argentina crop worries
U.S. soybean and soymeal futures extended gains on Thursday to trade at levels last seen in 2014, as investors continued to fret about the prospect of reduced supply from exporter Argentina after a rain-hit harvest. MORE
U.S. grains: Soybeans retreat on profit-taking
Wheat up on short-covering, possible feed use MORE
Grain Farmers of Ontario – Daily Commodity Report HERE
More Futures Prices HERE and HERE
General Interest
Integrated Pest Management gaining credibility
More and more growers are beginning to embrace the IPM approach to insect control, and the system is beginning to bear fruit MORE
From hardy pigs to super-crops, gene editing poses new EU dilemma
Heat-tolerant Angus beef cattle designed for the tropics with white coats instead of black or red. A button mushroom that doesn’t turn brown. Pigs that don’t fall sick. MORE
The Internet of Things: Implications for agriculture
Internet of Things (IoT) refers to an emerging reality where more and more devices are connected to users and other devices via the Internet. The ramifications of IoT will touch us all in the very near future. MORE
Regular Updates
StatsCan – Dairy statistics, March 2016 HERE
Rayglen Market Comments – May 25 HERE
StatsCan – Farm income, 2015 HERE
StatsCan – Farm cash receipts, first quarter 2016 HERE
StatsCan – Deliveries of major grains, April 2016 HERE
StatsCan – Oilseed crushing statistics, April 2016 HERE
StatsCan – Milled wheat and wheat flour produced, March 2016 HERE
Canadian Dairy Commission – Market Bulletin – May 16 HERE
Ontario Farm Market Summary – Thursday, May 26 HERE
AgWeather Atlantic HERE
Today’s Local Weather – HERE
Meetings and Events
Princess Auto BBQ May 31st in Support of PEI Progressive Agriculture Safety Day
The PEI Federation of Agriculture is hosting an opening day BBQ at the Princess Auto store in Charlottetown on Tuesday, May 31st from 11am-1pm. This event is in support of Progressive Agriculture Foundation Safety Days. The PEIFA has hosted Safety Days the past number of years for Island youth and all donations from the BBQ will go towards our next Safety Day taking place in September. Watch HERE to see what our Safety Days are all about!:
Please come join us for lunch and show your support!!
Prince Edward Island Sheep Breeders’ Association Continuing Education
Join us for a training session that will qualify your farm operation for funding under the Agriculture Livestock Enhancement Program / Small Ruminant Enhancement Project (Sheep and Goats)
June 06 – Rodd Royalty Hotel – Charlottetown – Registration begins at 1:00 PM MORE
PEIFA / Island Lime / PEI Agromart Scholarship
$2000 Scholarship to be awarded – Application Deadline is July 1st. DETAILS and APPLICATION
East Coast Style 2016 – Dairy Sale & Show
Aug 11 – 13 – Eastside Holsteins, Frenchfort MORE
