September Member Profile – Greg and Tania MacKenzie HERE
4R NUTRIENT STEWARDSHIP – FARM TOUR & TAILGATE MEETINGS
Modhaicdh Farms – September 8, 2016 at 6:00 p.m
Island Holdings – September 9, 2016 at 11:30 a.m
Wallace Family Farms – September 12, 2016 at 11:30 a.m
View full details for these events and to RSVP HERE
Local, Regional, Canadian News
P.E.I. farm kids offered safety training
If children are aware of the risks, ‘growing up on a farm can be a wonderful place’ MORE
Family Farm Staying on Top of Organic Demand
The Dykerman family in Brookfield, Prince Edward Island, is passionate about farming, high service standards and quality produce. For more than three decades, the family operation has been growing and processing conventional vegetables for sale to wholesale markets in Atlantic Canada. As these wholesalers started to request more and more organic vegetables, Matthew Dykerman saw an opportunity to become a bigger player in that market. MORE
Green Diamond Equipment finds new Summerside location
Green Diamond Equipment to reopen in Slemon Park after fire destroyed building MORE
New Brunswick corn maze latest celebration of iconic Jose Bautista bat flip
It’s a moment that will long be remembered by fans of the Toronto Blue Jays. Jose Bautista’s ‘bat flip’ during Game 5 of the 2015 American League Divisional Series has become a thing of legend, and the iconic moment has been immortalized on t-shirts, magnets, phone cases, mugs, and artwork. MORE
‘Holy potato’ found at Quebec seniors’ residence
Sacred spud found by cook makes residents feel safe, watched over MORE
Livestock
Holstein Canada to Benchmark Canadian Dairy Herds
DFC and Holstein Canada have officialised a deal making Holstein Canada the qualified independent party to conduct Cattle Assessments on Canadian dairy farms and benchmark herds over a two-year period (October 2016 – September 2018). Holstein Canada will be starting this October in British Columbia, and will then continue as their normal animal classification schedule unfolds in other provinces. MORE
Fines for Not Reporting Swine Movements Expected Only in Extreme Cases
The Manager of PigTrace Canada expects recently introduced fines for non-compliance of swine movement reporting requirements to only be levied in extreme cases following repeated warnings, writes Bruce Cochrane. MORE
Hog Outlook: Prestage Foods to Build Hog Slaughter Plant in Iowa
Prestage Foods of Iowa has obtained approval from the Board of Supervisors for Wright County Iowa to build a hog slaughter plant near Eagle Grove, Iowa. The $240 million plant is expected to begin operations in the second half of 2018, write Ron Plain and Scott Brown, Ag Economics, MU. MORE
Cattle producers getting less for beef but retail prices not dropping accordingly
Retail beef prices expected to drop a bit, but will remain pricey MORE
U.S. livestock: Live cattle tumble to five-year lows on beef declines
Lean hogs’ gains over week wiped out MORE
Cattle Outlook: Lower Cattle Prices Boosting Female Slaughter
Calculations by the Livestock Marketing Information Center put cattle feeding losses at $152 per head for closeouts during July. That made July losses the biggest for any month since February, write Ron Plain and Scott Brown, Ag Economics, MU. MORE
CME: Cattle Slaughter Rates High in August
Steer and heifer slaughter posted another remarkable month in August, following on the heels of a robust July, write Steve Meyer and Len Steiner. MORE
Atlantic Stockyards – Market Report – September 1 HERE
*Scroll down to find current report
Ontario Cattlemen’s Association Market Report – Friday, September 2 HERE
Potatoes
Battered and Bruised
What can be done to minimize bruises and wounds this harvest season? There are two major components to bruise management: 1) factoring in tuber conditions and variety susceptibility to bruise with a harvest, and 2) running a handling operation designed to minimize physical impact or damage of the tubers. MORE
Piling On
Believe it or not, in most potato-growing parts of the U.S., it’s that time of year again. Pretty soon all the spuds will be out of the fields and in the cellars. This buyers’ guide is the perfect place to find the latest and best storage equipment and chemicals for the crop you’re about to bring in. MORE
Weekly Michigan Potato Report – August 31 HERE
AAFC / InfoHort Potato Reports HERE
USDA – Daily National Potato and Onion Report HERE
Crops
North American Grain/Oilseed Review: Prices up ahead of long weekend
ICE Futures Canada canola contracts settled higher for the third straight session on Friday, as traders positioned themselves ahead of the Labour Day long weekend. MORE
ICE Futures Canada Friday: Canola futures prices higher, barley unchanged HERE
AM markets: grains resume losses. But cotton and soyoil gain HERE
Late planting of early soybeans explored
Early-maturing soybean varieties have been a great benefit to Manitoba producers and now researchers are trying to determine if they can also be planted later in the season. MORE
U.S. grains: Wheat rises for a second day on short-covering
Corn up after hitting multi-year lows MORE
PEI Grain Elevator Prices – August 29 HERE
Grain Farmers of Ontario – Daily Commodity Report HERE
More Futures Prices HERE and HERE
General Interest
Bayer sweetens Monsanto bid as talks enter final stretch
German pharmaceutical and crops manufacturer Bayer said on Monday that its negotiations with Monsanto had advanced, and that it was now willing to offer more than US$65 billion to acquire the world’s largest seeds company. MORE
Fertilizer merger faces easier approval at home than in U.S.
Canada’s PotashCorp and Agrium are more likely to win approval for a potential merger in Canada than in the U.S., but U.S. rejection of the deal would scuttle it globally, competition lawyers said. Saskatoon-based PotashCorp and Calgary’s Agrium confirmed Tuesday they were in preliminary merger talks, toward a deal that would create a fertilizer and farm-retailing giant. MORE
Are self-driving tractors the future of farming?
Imagine a future in which cars are so smart they’ll have the ability to protect us from our own bad choices. According to James Poffberg, a farmer in Humboldt, Sask., that future isn’t as far away as we might think.
“We’re not going to be driving in a couple of years,” said Poffberg, in an interview with Cross Country Checkup’s Duncan McCue. MORE
My crystal ball shows risk in expecting higher food prices
The world will need more food but unless production increases can’t meet that demand, today’s prices probably won’t change much MORE
Regular Updates
PEIDAF – Agriculture Market Report – September 2 HERE
FCC Express – September 2 HERE
ACORN E-News – September 2016 HERE
Rayglen Market Report – August 31 HERE
Ontario Farm Market Summary – Friday, September 2 HERE
AgWeather Atlantic HERE
Today’s Local Weather – HERE
Meetings and Events
2 Day Standard First Aid and CPR Courses
(Membership discounted rate of $70)
September 8th-9th– Stratford September 24th-25th– Stratford
September 27th-28th– Stratford
*First aid and CPR course are also available at your farm for a minimum of 8 participants. Please contact Charlotte at 902-368-7289 for more details.
4R NUTRIENT STEWARDSHIP – FARM TOUR & TAILGATE MEETINGS
Modhaicdh Farms – September 8, 2016 at 6:00 p.m
Island Holdings – September 9, 2016 at 11:30 a.m
Wallace Family Farms – September 12, 2016 at 11:30 a.m
View full details for these events HERE
AAFC Potato Variety Evaluation Field Tour
The 2016 potato variety evaluation field tour will be held on Thursday, September 8, 2016 at 1 pm at the Harrington Research Farm located at 1200 Brackley Point Road (7 km north of the Charlottetown Airport). This year new varieties, advanced selections and Accelerated Release (AR) lines from three trials will be on display.
Trial 1: Advanced selections of fresh market and processing lines from AAFC under conventional production.
Trial 2: The Canadian Horticultural Council Research Cluster PEI Potato Variety Trial including new varieties, AR lines, high starch varieties and 6 lines at 75 lbs N/acre.
Trail 3: Advanced selections from AAFC under organic production.
For more information, contact: David Main at david.main@agr.gc.ca or 902-370-1375
Progressive Agriculture Farm Safety Day!!
Saturday, September 10th – 9am-12:30pm at the Kensington Fire Hall
Registration is $5- includes lunch and a t-shirt
The PEI Federation of Agriculture is excited to be hosting its 5th Progressive Agriculture Safety Day on Saturday, September 10th at the Kensington Fire Hall! This event is open to youth ages 7-14 who have an interest in agriculture ( no farm background necessary!).
Those pre-registered by September 8th will be entered in a draw to win a bicycle! Contact Charlotte at the PEIFA office 902-368-7289 charlottec@peifa.ca
View the poster HERE
Get the Registration/consent form HERE
Tractor Safety Course
Saturday, September 10th – 8am-4pm – JVI Charlottetown/Reddin Equipment Ltd – Cost: $85
Theory and practical included. Topics include: Occupational Health & Safety, mobile equipment regulations, farm tractors on public roads, tractor stability, instruments and controls, hitching and connecting implements, PTO safety and safe tractor operation.
You must pre-register by contacting Charlotte at 902-368-7289 / charlottec@peifa.ca. Course is limited to 12 participants.
Open Farm Day
Sunday, September 18th!
The PEI Agriculture Awareness Committee is pleased to present Open Farm Day on Sunday, September 18th. Islanders are encouraged to get out and visit some of the 30 participating farms that will be opening their barn doors. Information on each farm along with maps can be found HERE
National Organic Week – Sept 17 – 25, 2016
Canada’s National Organic Week is the largest annual celebration of organic food, farming and products across the country. MORE
PEI COPC 13th Annual Organic Harvest Meal & Celebration
September 25, 2016 6:00 PM at Confederation Centre of the Arts. MORE
Namaste Lamb Event
September 25 – Featuring Celebrity Chef Vikram Vij
A newly branded signature event this year on the Fall Flavours calendar and it will be held on September 24th at 6:00 pm. The event will be held at Rodd Crowbush Resort. Tickets are $90 per person and can be purchased online or by phone at 1-866-960-9912 MORE
Canadian Agricultural Safety Association Annual Conference and AGM
Rodd Charlottetown Hotel – 75 Kent St. – October 4th-6th
This year’s theme is “Empowering the AgSafe Family – keeping kids safe”. The conference will bring together farmers, safety professionals, equipment manufacturers and researchers to probe the reality and discuss new approaches to improve the safety and health of children, youth, their families and young workers in Canada’s ag community. Conference details and registration information can be found HERE
World Food Day – October 16 MORE
