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
Local, Regional, Canadian News
A sure sign of fall: Pumpkin harvest underway
The pumpkin harvest is underway at MacKenzie Produce in Stratford MORE
Hundreds brave the wind and rain to attend Open Farm Day
Klondike Farm, nestled in Wilmot Valley, operated by John Hogg and sons, Adam and Bradley, is a potato-processing farm, and hard work is at the root of their success. MORE
Islanders get taste of life on a farm
29 farms — from dairy farms to wineries — welcome visitors for Open Farm Day MORE
From blueberries to alpacas to pigs: Open Farm Day is Sunday
29 farms participating this year MORE
Low milk prices don’t mean cheap retail prices
From the fall of 2014 to the spring of 2016, the value of milk at the farm gate dropped 40 percent. Meanwhile, at the grocery store, the impact was much smaller. Whole milk dropped 16 percent in price while Cheddar cheese receded just 3 percent. MORE
Welcome to Organic Week 2016!
This nationwide event provides us with the opportunity to celebrate our amazing organic farmers and processors, who really cannot get enough recognition for their hard work and dedication to producing wholesome, healthy food.
Growers, retailers, and restaurants across Atlantic Canada are planning exciting Organic Week events to show their support for local and organic farmers and processors. Here are a few highlights to give you a sense of what’s planned for the week – MORE
Group says ag programs should include trade issues
An agricultural economics research organization says discussion on the next agricultural policy framework should focus on more than just renewing the existing set of programs. MORE
2016 Future of Dairy Scholarship Program
Deadline is October 1st!
Lely North America (Lely NA) is proud to announce the new 2016 Future of Dairy Scholarship Program that will be awarded annually. Five qualified students residing in Canada will be awarded a one-year, $1,000 scholarship. Students must be at least 18 years old and currently enrolled at an accredited junior college, college, university, or graduate school. The student must also be registered in a program that can equip them to contribute to the dairy industry and be current or previous members of the 4-H. MORE
Farm apprenticeships for 2017
Just a reminder that farms interested in hosting volunteer apprentices from an agricultural college in France in the summer of 2017 have until the beginning of October to let us know. They would like to send 3 or 4 of their students for 2 months or more and they do have a working knowledge of English. Please check the news release for more details or contact Noella at 902-854-3439 ext. 222. MORE
P.E.I Farm Technician Apprenticeship 2017 Training Block
Monday, January 9 – Friday, February 10, 2016 at the Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue, Charlottetown P.E.I.
Developed in consultation with the PEI Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee, this one-of-a-kind, free two-year registered apprenticeship program combines classroom learning with on-farm experience, earning students a Certificate of Qualification in Farm Technician by the PEI Department of Innovation and Advanced Learning.
Apprentices work throughout the year gaining skills on-farm with a farm mentor in addition to participating in five weeks of in-class training delivered by Extended Learning, Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture, on PEI. This unique program was developed to address the demand for a skilled, sustainable, agricultural workforce on P.E.I.
Those interested in starting the journey to become a Blue Seal Certified Farm Technician must first register with;
P.E.I. Agriculture Sector Council at 902- 892-1091, 1-866-892-1091 (toll free) or email: info@peiagsc.ca
Livestock
Canada Beef president resigns
The man at the helm of Canada’s beef marketing agency has resigned. Rob Meijer, president of Canada Beef, cited family commitments in announcing his resignation, which takes effect today. MORE
Sustainable beef is ‘an incredible opportunity’
Canada’s beef sector leads the world when it comes to sustainability and needs to tell that story, says Cameron Bruett MORE
U.S. livestock: Strong cash prices push CME live cattle higher
Feeder cattle gain sharply, lean hogs finish higher MORE
Cattle Outlook: Beef Retail Prices Down in August
The average retail price of choice beef was $5.915 cents per pound during August. That is down 17.5 cents from the month before, down 41.3 cents from a year ago, and the lowest monthly average since May 2014, write Ron Plain and Scott Brown, Ag Economics, MU. MORE
Hog Outlook: Pork Retail Price On the Up
The average retail price of pork during August was $3.796 per pound. That was up 1.5 cents from the month before, but down 3.8 cents from August 2015, write Ron Plain and Scott Brown, Ag Economics, MU. MORE
PED reappears in southeastern Manitoba
Manitoba has logged its first on-farm case of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in over three months, in a sow barn in the province’s livestock-intensive southeast. Southeastern Manitoba has been home to all of the province’s nine on-farm outbreaks of PED since the virus first appeared there in February 2014. MORE
Russia Hog Market Report
Current prices in Russia are around 104 Roubles ($1.59) per live kg. This means good producers continue to be making $50 to $70 per pig profit. Despite this, there is a degree of nervousness in the market, writes Simon Grey, General Manager Russia, CIS, and Europe. MORE
Ontario Cattlemen’s Association Market Report – Thursday, September 15 HERE
Potatoes
“Potato market is slow and expensive”
The potato market has been stuck at a tough price level for weeks. “The cultivation costs of strains such as Eigenheimer, Bildstar and Doré are around 30 cents, and Frieslanders are being sold for a price between 22 and 24 cents. MORE
Potatoes too hot for storage
Potato farmers in Lower Saxony, Germany, start the potato harvest with expectations of an average yield. After a difficult growing period with a lot of rain, farmers now have to cope with heat and drought. MORE
AAFC / InfoHort Potato Reports HERE
USDA – Daily National Potato and Onion Report HERE
Crops
North American Grains/Oilseed Review – Canola firms with short-covering
THE ICE Futures Canada canola market settled slightly higher on Friday, as traders covered shorts before the weekend and rainy weather delayed harvest efforts across the Canadian Prairies. MORE
ICE Futures Canada Friday: Canola futures prices higher, barley unchanged HERE
AM markets: grains, cotton rise as US rains erode crop hopes HERE
ICE Canola Firms with CDN Weather Issues, Gains in Soy
Canola contracts on the ICE Futures Canada platform were slightly higher at 10:45 CDT on Friday, taking strength from delays in the Canadian harvest and advances in the US soy complex. MORE
U.S. grains: Rainy Midwest sparks rally in corn, soybeans
Showers overnight stall combines in Iowa, Nebraska MORE
PEI Grain Elevator Prices – September 15 HERE
Grain Farmers of Ontario – Daily Commodity Report HERE
More Futures Prices HERE and HERE
General Interest
U.S. EPA says glyphosate likely not carcinogenic
Agency’s final assessment due out in spring MORE
Bayer betting billions farmers will back linked-up supplies
Rationale is to develop new product combinations; BASF says better to keep products separate MORE
Lack of labourers biggest issue facing beekeepers
For more than four years, Canadian beekeepers have been asking the federal government to change the rules for temporary foreign workers. Pesticides and their impact on colony health have dominated the news around bees in Canada, but temporary foreign workers and human resource issues are a much larger headache for beekeepers. MORE
Sustainable agriculture offers satisfaction
Beans are planted beside potatoes to keep beetles at bay, hygienic Saskatraz queen bees from Saskatchewan keep hives clean and rooting pigs rototill the corrals. MORE
Trump biofuel proposals echo those of backer Icahn
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday appeared to weigh into a debate over a controversial U.S. biofuels program with a proposal that would back the position of billionaire investor Carl Icahn, one of his wealthiest backers. MORE
It’s the right time to revisit value of prison farms
In a questionable move back in 2010, the Conservative government closed down six prison farms located at Canadian minimum-security facilities. MORE
Regular Updates
FCC Express – September 16 HERE
Ontario Farm Market Summary – Thursday, September 15 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 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.
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
