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
May Member Profile – Chris Downey HERE
P.E.I. Burger Love 2017: By the numbers
The Beefy Vixen from Mill River Resort is the 2017 winner of P.E.I. Burger Love, by an online vote of Island burger fans. MORE
Maritime cattle producers working to beef up industry with new strategy
P.E.I. cattle producers and their counterparts in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have developed a new strategy with the Maritime Beef Council to grow the beef sector by an additional 20,000 head of beef cattle in the Maritimes by 2027. MORE
Winning workplace safety video focuses on the farm
The winner of this year’s Workers Compensation Board of P.E.I. High School Video Contest highlights the dangers of working when you are tired, especially on the farm. MORE
**Islanders can cast their vote to make the Morell students’ video the “Fan Favourite” in the National contest at http://www.ccohs.ca/youngworkers/video_contest.html .
Voting will be open between April 29th and May 5th. The winner will be announced online the week of May 8th, and will receive an additional $1,000 cash prize.
This video contest is part of a national initiative to promote safety and rights for young workers. The Prince Edward Island contest is sponsored by CCOHS in partnership with the Workers Compensation Board.
The video is also available on the WCB website at http://www.wcb.pe.ca/workplace/contest.
Canadian government told to boost research investment
A review panel led by former University of Toronto president David Naylor has found that Canada needs to spend millions on basic research over the next four years to prevent it from falling behind other nations, according to a recent report in Science. MORE
Drones, drones on the range: ranchers take to the sky to monitor herds
A local startup business is partnering with researchers at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) to develop technology that will assist ranchers with tracking livestock. MORE
U.S. farm groups pile on Canada as Trump eyes trade fairness
U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of the protected Canadian dairy system has emboldened U.S. farm groups to tackle other longstanding agriculture irritants, as the countries move toward rewriting trade rules. MORE
Farm Credit Canada – Job Opportunity
Passion for agriculture required
Manage relationships with local producers and be responsible for a developing loan portfolio. You’ll tailor financing packages to meet your customers’ needs, including both lending and non-lending products, and help them build success.
Job Title: Relationship Manager
Location: Charlottetown, PE
Closing date: May 19, 2017
Language required: English
Term: Permanent
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
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/
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL TO:
Develop a process and identify suitable metrics to ultimately deliver a data set which definitively describes the economic, environmental and social effects of a robust organic agriculture industry on Prince Edward Island; link to detailed project description.
Please direct any inquiries to: Karen Murchison, PEI COPC Research Coordinator
email@organicpei.com or 902-894-9999
Livestock
CME live cattle up third straight session
Chicago Mercantile Exchange nearby live cattle futures on Thursday rose for a third straight day, led by bullish market fundamentals before profit-taking pulled contracts from new highs, said traders. MORE
Cattle Bathing, Treatment Centre Inaugurated in Issyk-Kul Region
The center for cattle treatment and bathing was inaugurated in the village of Teplokluchenka, Issyk-Kul region on 5 May, reports Turmush. MORE
Red Cross Delivering Hay to Prevent Cattle Deaths
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) are delivering hay to families affected by drought who have been displaced by violence in an effort to prevent the deaths of cattle the communities rely on. MORE
Quick ID, Response Limits Risk for Potential for Spread of PED
Manitoba’s Chief Veterinary Officer says quick action in identifying the province’s latest case of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea will help limit any potential for neighboring farms to become infected MORE
Farm groups weigh options after hog truck verdict
Officials with Ontario farm groups plan to “discuss next steps” following the dismissal of charges against an animal welfare activist who gave drinks to hogs aboard a livestock trailer. MORE
Pork Packer Margins Remain in Good Shape
Pork packer margins remain in good shape and, as long as that is the case, the incentive will be to maximize slaughter schedules, reports Steiner Consulting Group, DLR Division, Inc. MORE
Japanese Pork Imports Still Growing for Now
Following a trend seen throughout most of 2016, Japanese pork imports continued to grow modestly during the first quarter of the year being up 8 per cent year-on-year, reports Bethan Wilkins, AHDB Analyst. MORE
Atlantic Stockyards Market Report – May 4 – HERE
*Scroll down to find current report
Ontario Cattlemen’s Association Market Report – Thursday, May 4 HERE
Potatoes
Rain expected to stall Ontario potato planting progress
Rainfall expected for much of southern Ontario is expected to narrow what’s been a relatively early planting window for Ontario’s potato growers. MORE
Plant clean seed potatoes
Starting the season with disease-free potato seed stock is the first step in establishing a good stand that will maximize yield potential. MORE
Fumigation a potential solution for ‘tired potato land’
Soil fumigation is a good option for potato acres inflicted by yield-limiting pests, says Andy Robinson, a North Dakota State University extension potato specialist. MORE
Universities Partner on Potato Storage Project
A partnership involving Idaho State University and Boise State University has been awarded an Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission (IGEM) grant. MORE
McCain Foods USA plans USD 200 million expansion of Burley Idaho French Fry plant
McCain Foods USA has announced it will invest more than USD 200 million into expanding its Burley, Idaho potato processing plant, creating 180 jobs and increasing potato production throughout the state. MORE
AHDB Launches New Tool to Fight against Blight
AHDB Potatoes has launched a new website to help combat the industry’s most threatening disease, the late blight, caused by the pathogen Phytophthora infestans. MORE
New Product: Buntata App
Scotland’s James Hutton Institute has launched Buntata, a free Android app to help potato growers identify plant pests and diseases in the field. MORE
TOMRA and University of Brussels Test New Technique for Acrylamide Detection in Potatoes
Tomra Sorting Solutions has collaborated with the University of Brussels to test a new technique which allows the detection of dangerous levels of acrylamide in processed and fresh potatoes. MORE
Unpeeled baby potatoes in restaurants most likely to be Jazzy
It is no longer necessary to peel the Jazzy potato from C. Meijer. This Dutch potato farmer’s variety, which was introduced seven years ago, just needs to be washed. MORE
Japan’s potato chip shortage reaching crisis point
Japan’s potato chip shortage is rapidly developing into a crisis, with consumers rushing to stock up on what little is left in supermarkets and manufacturers struggling to find fresh supplies. MORE
Price of new potatoes falls 30% compared to last year
Driven by the soaring prices in the spring of 2016, this year many growers expanded their cultivation area to get higher yields. MORE
AAFC / InfoHort Potato Reports HERE
USDA – Daily National Potato and Onion Report HERE
Crops
North American Grains/Oilseed Review: Canola ends mixed as traders lock in spreads
The ICE Futures Canada canola market finished mixed in choppy trading on Thursday. MORE
ICE Futures Canada Thursday: Canola futures prices mixed, barley unchanged HERE
Sunflowers down, but not out in Western Canada
Canadian sunflower plantings will be down in 2017, but perhaps not by as much as the official government estimate. MORE
The swede midge threat
By 2015, Terry Phillips, then chair of the Ontario Canola Growers Association, was advising growers in Ontario’s Near North to stop planting canola on farms that had been hit by the recent arrival of the swede midge. MORE
Prairie seeding off to ‘shaky start’
Western Canada will likely see some favourable seeding conditions in the short term, one meteorologist says, though wet pockets in some areas need longer to dry out. MORE
SUCCESS WITH ORGANICS DEPENDS ON STARTING WITH THE RIGHT SEED
The price premium on organic produce of all kinds, combined with growing interest in sustainable farming, is tempting more and more agricultural producers to look towards organics. MORE
Wheat weakness brings seeding uncertainty
Producers aren’t happy when they look at wheat futures forecasts, but their seeding options might be limited MORE
Wheat plunges, erasing most of Monday’s rally
U.S. wheat futures fell 3.7 per cent on Thursday, pressured by results from a crop tour that showed yield prospects in Kansas remained above-average despite a severe snow storm, traders said. MORE
AM markets: wheat mulls full retreat to pre-US storm levels HERE
PEI Grain Elevator Prices – HERE
Grain Farmers of Ontario – Daily Commodity Report HERE
More Futures Prices HERE and HERE
General Interest
Wheat dreams: Gluten-free diets don’t help non-celiacs, study finds
Saying goodbye to rye, wheat, and barley is big business. Gluten-free products line the aisles of most grocery stores, and specialty bakeries are increasingly catering to the grain-restricted diets of a growing number health conscious Canadians. MORE
Glacier Media strengthens weather, ag technology team
Glacier Media, a leading Canadian business information news, insights and data supplier, has appointed Jonathan Neutens as president of its Weather Innovations Consulting (WIN) group. MORE
ChemChina clinches takeover of Syngenta
ChemChina has won more than enough support from Syngenta shareholders to clinch its US$43 billion takeover of the Swiss pesticides and seeds group, the two companies said Friday. MORE
EPS funding cuts could hurt agriculture
U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed cutting almost a third of the funding allocated to the Environmental Protection Agency. While that decision may resonate with fed tape-weary farmers, it could actually hurt agriculture in a number of ways, according to an article on the AgProfessional web site. MORE
Regular Updates
Rayglen Market Comments – May 3 HERE
Weekly PEI Agriculture Market Reports – April 28 HERE
Ontario Farm Market Summary – Thursday, May 4 HERE
AgWeather Atlantic HERE
Today’s Local Weather – HERE
Meetings and Events
Spring Management Workshop
Cameron Menzies from The Atlantic Tech Transfer Team for Apiculture will be putting on a spring management beekeeping workshop for PEI beekeepers in May. The morning of the workshop will be an indoor lecture on spring hive management and preparing for summer management. The afternoon portion of the workshop will be a field portion where participants are invited to the apiary of a local beekeeper to visualize some spring management in action. The workshop will be held twice at two different locations in the province.
The dates and locations of the workshops are:
Friday May 5th, 9:00 AM at The Farm Centre, 420 University Ave, Charlottetown, PE
Saturday May 6th, 9:00 AM at The Riverhouse Inn and Cottages, 33 Brook St, Montague, PE
Both workshops will be free for participants. Lunch will not be provided and participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch. Time will be allotted for a lunch break mid-day. Participants who are serious about beekeeping and already have operating hives are most encouraged to attend.
RSVP: Cameron Menzies – Cell: 902-957-3427 – Email: cmenzies@perennia.ca
Trade Team PEI Business Mission to South Korea
When: May 15, 2017 – May 19, 2017
Where: Seoul, South Korea
Innovation PEI, in partnership with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) are seeking interest from PEI-based enterprises and organizations to participate in a multi-sector Business Mission to South Korea during the week of May 15-19, 2017. MORE
This mission will serve to enhance existing export relationships, provide opportunities for market expansion while at the same time providing an exceptional opportunity to introduce companies to this strong market. Korea is the 13th largest economy in the world and is one of the largest importing countries on the planet. P.E.I.’s exports to Korea in 2016 were almost $15 million and Canadian products/suppliers are much sought after for our high quality and reputation to deliver. This mission will be of particular interest to companies in the professional services, ICT, clean tech, education, manufacturing and food sectors. The customization of each delegate’s business development program to advance their mission-week and market objectives will be a core feature of this initiative.
During this week the Seoul Food and Hotel Show will be taking place offering mission participants a chance to see first-hand the breadth of product offering and to gather key market intelligence. While there is a Canada pavilion at this event, P.E.I. will not have a booth at the show for this year. Participants will be able to walk the show. However we will also be exploring this opportunity for future years. For details on the Seoul Hotel and Food Show visit http://www.seoulfoodnhotel.co.kr/
For more information on this mission and to express your interest in participating, please contact either of these mission leads by email or by phone:
Scott Ferris – Innovation PEI scferris@gov.pe.ca or (902) 368-5952 or Jeff Burry – ACOA Jeff.Burry@canada.ca or (902) 314-2197
