In partnership with PEI Agromart and Island Lime, the PEI Federation of Agriculture is pleased to offer a scholarship of $2,000 for the 2017/18 academic year.
Application deadline is June 1, 2017. Click here for the application form.
Local, Regional, Canadian News
Beekeepers want people to stop weeding their dandelions
The president of the P.E.I. Beekeepers Association is encouraging homeowners not to kill their dandelions. MORE
Macphail woods restoration project gets extension
The restoration project at the Macphail Woods in Kings County has been renewed for 10 years. MORE
Confederation Bridge: What has it meant?
It’s been an imposing figure in the lives of Islanders for 20 years, but what effects has the ‘fixed-link’ had on P.E.I.? MORE
Canadians asked what food issues matter to them with launch of A Food Policy for Canada consultations
Food matters. Canadians make choices every day about food that directly impacts their health, environment, and communities. The Government of Canada is committed to helping put more affordable, safe, healthy, food on tables across the country, while protecting the environment. MORE
Trust in agriculture increases with farm visits: survey
Residents of the Greater Toronto Area who have worked in agriculture or have recently visited a working farm are more likely to be optimistic about job prospects in the agriculture sector. MORE
La Salle couple earns recognition for 4-H leadership
A Manitoba couple who received national recognition this spring for leadership with the 4-H program says one of the reasons they moved to rural Manitoba was so their own children could be involved in the program. MORE
What Canadians Think of Supply Management
On May 26th, Campaign Research published the results of a pollasking Canadians whether or not they approve or disapprove of supply management. The results of this poll are both clear, and staggering: 75% of Canadians approve of supply management. MORE
PEI Certified Organic Producers Cooperative
Following is a link to our new podcast: http://organicpei.com/podcast/
Environmental Farm Plan Renewals
The Enhanced Environmental Farm Plan Program sent out renewal letters in early 2017 to notify producers that their environmental farms plans would be expiring at the end of the year. If you are a producer who has not yet contacted the office to have your plan updated please call Matt or JoAnn at 902-368-7289.
EFP’s are valid for 5 years and we encourage all farmers to participate in the program. Participation in the program also allows you to apply for funding through the Growing Forward 2 Agriculture Stewardship Program, Farmland Finance Program and the Future Farmer Program. For your convenience the EFP can be completed at your farm or at the PEI Federation of Agricultural office and takes approximately 1.5 hrs to complete. EFP’s are no cost to the producer.
If you feel your EFP may be expired and you have not yet been contacted please call the office and we will check the status of your last plan. Further information on the Enhanced Environmental Farm Plan Program can be found on the PEI Federation of Agriculture webpage www.peifa.ca/efp/
PEI COPC Organic Farm Tour
PEI COPC will be hosting a one day organic farm tour on Wednesday, July 6th from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m..
Local media, social media guests, COPC staff, PEIDAF Minister and Deputy will be attending the tour of five COPC member farms, including: Dexter Cattle Company, Square One Organics, Red Soil Organics, Heartbeet Organics, and Schurman Family Farm.
Transportation and lunch are provided.
Seats are limited and tickets will be on sale beginning next week ($25 each or $20 for COPC members).
Contact Karen at email@organicpei.com or 902-894-9999 for more information.
Livestock
Feeder cattle market stabilizes
After the recent rally, cattle buyers noted that price spreads between weight categories came back in line with traditional levels this week. MORE
Putting spurge on the menu for research — and cattle
Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI) is ramping up for 2017. Preparations are underway for a long list of projects at the collaborative’s three test farms outside of Brandon. MORE
CME live cattle recoup some recent losses
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle on Tuesday reversed some of their recent losses, helped by short-covering and futures’ discounts to this week’s expected cash prices, said traders. MORE
US Beef to be Back on Chinese Dining Tables
US beef exports are set to resume as part of the Sino-US economic cooperation 100-day action plan unveiled in mid-May. MORE
Cash Fed Cattle Prices in W21 Lower but Above Year Ago
Cash fed cattle prices last week were lower but remained above a year ago, as reported by USDA-AMS Market News Division, according to Steiner Consulting Group, DLR Division, Inc. MORE
Indian court suspends ban on beef cattle trade
An Indian court suspended on Tuesday a government ban on the trade of cattle for slaughter, a lawyer involved in the case said, giving some relief to Muslim-dominated beef and leather industries that employ millions of poor workers. MORE
Aussie Beef Experts Express Doubt About Endurance of India’s Cattle Slaughter Law
There are doubts about whether India’s ban on the slaughter of cattle and buffalo will last. MORE
Kerala Govt to Convene Meeting of All CMs Over New Cattle Laws
The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to convene a meeting of all chief ministers to discuss the Centre’s ban on sale of cattle at animal markets for slaughter. MORE
Canadian pork shipment flagged in China for ractopamine
A Canadian shipment of pig feet to China, produced by meat packer Olymel, has tested positive for residues of banned growth drug ractopamine and may curb future trade, Canadian government and industry officials say. MORE
Pork Producers Encouraged to Re-Evaluate Biosecurity
Manitoba Pork is encouraging the province’s pork producers to re-evaluate and step up biosecurity in the wake of the latest confirmed cased of PED MORE
Researchers Seek More Options for Piglets
A Research Scientist Ethology with the Prairie Swine Centre says new options now available and in development are making providing pain control to piglets during painful procedures more practical MORE
Pork Checkoff Announces Sponsored Activities at 2017 WPEX
The Pork Checkoff has an exciting lineup of Checkoff-sponsored events scheduled for World Pork Expo, 7-9 June 2017, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. MORE
Quotations Take a Breather
This week, the European slaughter market appears to be overall steady. MORE
The Perfect Pairing for Pork
Specially Selected Pork has teamed up with popular Scottish gin producer, Indian Summer Gin, to demonstrate to visitors at this week’s Taste of Grampian festival how pork and gin can be enjoyed together. MORE
Danish Crown Reports 15% Increase in Payment for Pigs
In the first six months of the financial year 2016/2017 Danish Crown increased the payment for pigs supplied by the farmer owners by almost 15 per cent or DKK 600 million relative to the year before. MORE
Atlantic Stockyards Market Report – May 25 – HERE
*Scroll down to find current report
Ontario Cattlemen’s Association Market Report – Tuesday, May 30 HERE
Potatoes
NEW DATE FOR POTATO SCOUTS IPM TRAINING SESSION
The Ontario Potato Board’s Training Session for Potato Scouts has been re-scheduled to Thursday, June 8. MORE
North Carolina Preps for Busy Summer
Red, yellow and white potatoes aren’t the first things that come to mind when you think about North Carolina agriculture, but for six weeks every summer, if you need fresh potatoes, there’s pretty much just one place in the U.S. to get them. MORE
The science of taste: why you choose fries over broccoli
Most people say that if there is a healthy choice on a menu they will take it. But observations and research show this is generally not the case. MORE
GMO Potato Lines to Be Approved in Australia and New Zealand
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) called for submissions on an application to permit food from a number of genetically modified potato lines. MORE
AAFC / InfoHort Potato Reports HERE
USDA – Daily National Potato and Onion Report HERE
Crops
North American Grain/Oilseed Review: Canola drops to one-month lows
ICE Futures Canada canola contracts were down sharply on Tuesday, hitting their lowest levels in more than a month. MORE
ICE Futures Canada Tuesday: Canola futures prices lower, barley unchanged HERE
Alfalfa sees rapid growth, and a question about stubble
This is the second release for the Green Gold program in 2017 assessing forage conditions in Manitoba. Reports will be issued from various areas of the Province (Eastern, Central, Interlake, and Western) in the weeks and months ahead. MORE
Are you ready to scout for and control flea beetles?
Flea beetles are easily the most chronically damaging insect pest in western Canadian canola. Damage results in yield losses estimated at $300 million each year. To limit damage, experts recommend acting early when an average level of defoliation level of 25 per cent or more is reached. MORE
Canola research gets $940,924
Ontario is putting $920,924 into the Genomic Applications Partnership Program to develop new varieties of canola.
Researchers from the University of Guelph and Benson Hill Biosystems of the United States will collaborate on the project. MORE
Soybeans near 14-month low as weather worries recede
U.S. soybean futures fell to their lowest level in nearly 14 months on Tuesday on better-than-expected weather conditions over a long holiday weekend and worries about export demand for new-crop supplies, analysts said. MORE
Early U.S. winter wheat harvest supports low-protein fears
The earliest reports from the start of the U.S. hard red winter wheat harvest underscored industry fears of a second straight year of low protein, a factor that shifts the market’s focus to prospects for the North American spring wheat crop, a higher-protein variety. MORE
Zimbabwe tobacco is booming, but farmers growing it are not
Farmer Simon Kahari recently sold tobacco worth more than $6,000 at an auction in Zimbabwe, a small fortune reflecting the golden leaf’s resurgence in this southern African country. MORE
EU rapeseed in good shape despite early problems
Rapeseed crops in the European Union’s largest producers are in reasonable condition despite the double blows of drought and late-spring frosts, experts said May 18. MORE
AM markets: US crop woes allow grains a ‘whipsaw Wednesday’ HERE
PEI Grain Elevator Prices – HERE
Grain Farmers of Ontario – Daily Commodity Report HERE
More Futures Prices HERE and HERE
General Interest
Conagra to sell Wesson oil brand to Smucker
Packaged food maker Conagra Brands said on Tuesday it would sell its Wesson cooking oil brand to Folgers coffee maker J.M. Smucker Co. for about US$285 million. MORE
Volm Companies and Wyma Solutions Announce North American Strategic Partnership
Volm Companies, the leading North American supplier of fresh produce packaging and equipment automation solutions, today announced a formal strategic partnership with Wyma Solutions, the global expert in post-harvest fresh and processed handling solutions. MORE
Regular Updates
Rayglen Market Comments – May 24 HERE
Weekly PEI Agriculture Market Reports – May 26 HERE
Ontario Farm Market Summary – Monday, May 29 HERE
AgWeather Atlantic HERE
Today’s Local Weather – HERE
Meetings and Events
PEI COPC Organic Farm Tour
PEI COPC will be hosting a one day organic farm tour on Wednesday, July 6th from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m..
Local media, social media guests, COPC staff, PEIDAF Minister and Deputy will be attending the tour of five COPC member farms, including: Dexter Cattle Company, Square One Organics, Red Soil Organics, Heartbeet Organics, and Schurman Family Farm.
Transportation and lunch are provided.
Seats are limited and tickets will be on sale beginning next week ($25 each or $20 for COPC members).
Contact Karen at email@organicpei.com or 902-894-9999 for more information.
Agricultural Youth Green Jobs Initiative
The Agricultural Youth Green Jobs Initiative has been approved for a 2 year period. Applications will be accepted starting April 26, 2017.
The program is designed to hire youth aged 15 to 30 for internships of up to 12 months. It will be of interest to producers and organizations working in the agriculture industry and interested in implementing agriculture projects that are environmentally beneficial.
Producers operating a farm or ranch can hire a young person to implement an environmentally beneficial project in their operation.
Agricultural organizations, such as watershed groups and companies providing environmentally beneficial services can access the program to support an environmentally beneficial project their organization is implementing. Research organizations can receive funding to support their agricultural research that benefits the environment.
For an application form and more details on the program, please visit: Agricultural Youth Green Jobs Initiative
