19th Annual PEIFA Golf Tournament
Thursday, August 11th – Countryview Golf Course. 9:00 shotgun start. 9 Holes, cart and bbq steak dinner – $50.00 per person. Contact Cliff at 902-368-7289 or clifft@peifa.ca to register. MUST PRE-REGISTER by August 5th.
*Longest Drive Competition – Men’s and Ladies, Closest to the Pin Competition – Men’s and Ladies
*Hole-in-One Competition – Dodge Truck!!! Sponsored by Summerside Chrysler Dodge. Thanks!!
Local, Regional, Canadian News
BYOT: Bring your own tractor
Leah Stetson and her father Garland climb onto their tractors, start the engines and head to the starting area Saturday for the 10th annual antique tractor pull in Kinkora. MORE
Young N.S. farmer uses old-school methods
A N.S. man is on a mission to grow quality local food, in a traditional and sustainable way. At 26-years-old, Jake MacDougall is a young farmer, but one that works with old school methods. “I get rewarded every day when I go in and eat supper because I am eating what I’ve produced,” says MacDougall. MORE
Canadian Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2016 Canadian Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Conservation Award. Nominations are open until August 12, 2016. More and Nomination form HERE
Canadian Embassy to promote organic companies
The Canadian Embassy is exhibiting at Riga Food 2016, the annual Baltics Food Industry Fair, September 7-10. Interested in promoting your products? MORE
Livestock
Demand driven sustainability
A decade ago the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published a report titled “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” which indicted meat production as responsible for 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That amount was greater than the impact of transportation, the report said. It’s a bogus claim, and one that has been debunked repeatedly by some of the world’s leading scientists. MORE
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures shrug off early selling
Feeder cattle closes sharply higher MORE
CME: Retail Beef Prices Drop
USDA-ERS released June average retail meat prices on Friday, write Steve Meyer and Len Steiner. MORE
CME: Retail Pork Prices Moving in Seasonal Fashion
USDA-ERS released June average retail meat prices on Friday, write Steve Meyer and Len Steiner. MORE
U.S. pork packing plant boom may boost hog prices
Healthy packer profit, China demand fuel expansion MORE
China Ruling the Global Pork Market
Continuing strong Chinese import demand and stalling supply will continue to support global pork prices through 3Q 2016, according to the Rabobank Global Pork Quarterly Q3 2016 report. MORE
Weekly Overview: Pig Grunts Identify Personality, Welfare
New research from the University of Lincoln, UK, and Queens University Belfast has found that the grunts made by pigs can be linked to personality and welfare. MORE
Governments Invest In Expansion at Maple Leaf Bacon Production Facility
The Canada and Manitoba governments are investing $500,000 in an expansion project that will increase bacon production at Maple Leaf Foods’ Winnipeg-based facility by eight million kilograms every year, Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced today. MORE
Ontario Cattlemen’s Association Market Report – Monday, July 18 HERE
Potatoes
Swiss potato harvest washed away
In Switzerland, the weather wasn’t on the side of potato producers. After last year’s bad conditions, this year the harvest has literally washed away. There are already farmers who have written off their crops and ploughed under the potato crop. MORE
Long, positive new potato campaign for Selenella
The harvesting campaign of Selenella new potatoes started in mid-April and has just ended. The season was therefore 4 weeks longer than usual. Due to the lack of produce that characterised the previous season, the Consorzio Patata Italiana di Qualità decided to plan ahead, which seems to have been the right choice. MORE
Venezuela: Government authorizes import of potato seeds
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Jose Gregorio Aguilera met with potato producers from the states of Lara, Merida, Tachira, Carabobo, and Aragua on Tuesday and told them that the government had authorized potato seed imports from Colombia and Canada to meet this sector’s needs. MORE
AAFC / InfoHort Potato Reports HERE
USDA – Daily National Potato and Onion Report HERE
Crops
North American Grains/Oilseed Review – Canola Ends Higher In Choppy Trade
THE ICE Futures Canada canola market finished slightly higher in choppy trading on Monday. MORE
ICE Futures Canada Monday: Canola futures prices higher, barley lower HERE
AM markets: grain prices ease, even as 110-degree heat looms HERE
Prairie wheat bids tick lower in choppy week
Spring wheat cash bids across Western Canada ended slightly lower for the week ended July 18, tracking choppy action in the U.S. futures. MORE
U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans end higher as U.S. hot spell looms
Corn snaps two-session decline on forecast hot, dry weather MORE
Grain Farmers of Ontario – Daily Commodity Report HERE
More Futures Prices HERE and HERE
General Interest
EU livestock farmers get compensation
The European Union will grant an additional 500 million euros (C$721 million) to EU farmers struggling with a long-running crisis linked to low prices, notably in the dairy sector where it aims to reverse a boom in milk output after the scrapping of production quotas. MORE
Monsanto aims to give farmers better information in weed resistance fight
The company is countering its competitors who tout their herbicides as tools in the fight to avoid herbicide-tolerant weeds MORE
Cross out Contamination
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 600 million people – almost 10 per cent of the global population – fall ill after eating contaminated food. With safety regulations and global demand for food on the rise, optical and sensor-based sorting has become a necessity rather than a luxury for many producers who have previously relied upon manual sorting and inspection. MORE
Regular Updates
PEIDAF Agriculture Marketing Report – July 15 HERE
FCC Express – July 15 HERE
StatsCan – Exports of grains by final destination, May 2016 HERE
AgWeather Atlantic HERE
Today’s Local Weather – HERE
Meetings and Events
THE DYNAMICS OF SOIL BIOLOGY
Tuesday, July 19 – 7:00 pm
PEI Potato Board Meeting Room – 90 Hillstrom Avenue in the West Royalty Business Park
Join us for an informative lecture with Pius Floris and Johan Middelkamp from the Netherlands on the dynamics of soil biology. Pius will speak about soil health and offer practical approaches to improving soil quality (and consequently the quality of the harvested products). They will also talk about soil preparation and weed control. MORE
PEI Potato Blossom Festival – July 18th – 24th
Farmers Banquet – July 22nd – Community Sports Centre – O’Leary
Catered by The Sizzler – tickets $25.00 – Option of chicken or pork.
Purchase ticket at festival office in the Future Tech Building or phone 902-726-3300 MORE
PEI Blueberry Field Day
Thursday July 21st – 10:00am-2:00pm
Terence and Marion MacDonald’s Warehouse – 3141 Savage Harbour Road, Mount Stewart
Sizzler BBQ lunch provided. Call JoAnn Pineau at 902-368-7289 for more information
Weed Wiping – Pesticide Training Session for Blueberry and Cranberry Growers
July 28 – Registration at 6:30 p.m, Course from 7 to 9 p.m.
Rodd Royalty Hotel – Trans Canada Hwy – Charlottetown
You are asked to pre-register by noon, July 27, 2016 by calling 902-368-4880 or 902-368-4145
East Coast Style 2016 – Dairy Sale & Show
Aug 11 – 13 – Eastside Holsteins, Frenchfort MORE
Farmers Helping Farmers Annual Beef Barbecue
Saturday August 13th from 4:00-6:30pm at the Harrington Research Station, 1200 Brackley Point Road.
Tickets are $30 each for adults, $ for children under 12, and take-out is available. You can get your tickets by emailing farmershelpingfarmerspei@gmail.com or dropping by the PEIFA Office in the Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue.
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
