May Member Profile – Nathan and Wendy Burns HERE
Local, Regional, Canadian News
New Provincial Veterinarian
The Government of Prince Edward Island has appointed a new provincial veterinarian, said Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Alan McIsaac. “Dr. Carolyn Sanford has accepted the appointment of Provincial Veterinarian with the Government of Prince Edward Island,” said Minister McIsaac. “Dr. Sanford has extensive training as a veterinarian and her expertise in epidemiology will be of great benefit to both the livestock and aquaculture industries.” MORE
Save P.E.I.’s bees
Letter to the Editor: Island government’s safety measures “a joke” to protect hives from beetle MORE
FCC Dairy Report Shows Demand Is On The Rise
Canadians want more dairy — particularly yogurt and butter. That’s according to Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) latest dairy sector report, which says yogurt consumption increased 34.2 per cent between 2005 and 2014, while butter demand went up 11 per cent. And that’s expected to grow further, as the report cites Agriculture Canada’s projections for Canadian fluid milk consumption to increase almost seven per cent by 2024. MORE
Dairy initiative seeks to reassure consumers
The program aims to meet consumer concerns in a farmer-friendly fashion MORE
DFC comments on GoC diafiltered milk media availability
We are eager to meet with the government on diafiltered milk, and to have this long-standing situation resolved as soon as possible. MORE
CANADIAN GROWER FUNGICIDE SURVEY DEADLINE: MAY 15
Fungicide tools are at risk due to regulatory pressures. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is in need of real numbers and statistics regarding the use of fungicide application on-farm to help decide what exposure times are for various activities. Complete the survey online HERE
Livestock
Editorial: Free enterprise?
Editorial on Earls: We all know there is one breed that produces the best beef. But ask a group of ranchers which breed that is, and you’ll get a whole bunch of different answers. They will also differ on “best” management practices, such as when to calve or what to feed, based on what works best on their ranches. MORE
Cattlemen’s Association Stands Up for Canada’s Animal Care Rules
The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) has said Canadian animal care regulations and standards are among the best in the world, after Canadian restaurant chain Earls Restaurants switched to US beef suppliers. MORE
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle up third straight session
Feeder cattle close higher, hog contracts extend gains MORE
CME: 2015 a Difficult Year for Pork Exports
Monthly trade numbers, on a carcass weight basis, will be released on Thursday by USDA-ERS. This data will be for the month of March. Looking back on 2015, it was a difficult year for exports across all protein categories. MORE
Canadian Dollar Value Biggest Factor Affecting Live Hog Prices
The Director of Risk Management with h@ms Marketing Services says the increasing value of the Canadian dollar is the biggest factor affecting the profitability of Canadian pork producers right now, writes Bruce Cochrane. MORE
U.S. kills 39,000 turkeys in low-path bird flu outbreak
U.S. authorities destroyed 39,000 turkeys in Missouri due to an outbreak of a mild form of avian flu, the World Organization for Animal Health said on Tuesday, as officials remained on alert for new cases. MORE
Pig attacks, injures 2 people at Massachusetts farm
A pig attacked and seriously injured a man at a Massachusetts farm hours after the animal attacked a woman. MORE
Ontario Cattlemen’s Association Market Report – Tuesday, May 3 HERE
Potatoes
Maine Fights Blackleg
The greater American potato industry is closely watching Maine, as seed potato growers prepare to control a new outbreak of an old disease. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is considering a proposal to set limits on the prevalence of the rotting disease blackleg in its certification of seed potatoes, which more than 100 Maine growers sell to other farmers all along the East Coast. MORE
Slowing Dickeya, Other Pathogens in Canada
Imported seed bearing new pathogens is a threat to the Canadian potato industry, according to a U.S. researcher. Neil Gudmestad, a distinguished professor of plant pathology at North Dakota State University, was in Brandon, Manitoba this January to deliver a lecture on the importance of planting locally produced seed at Manitoba Potato Production Days. MORE
Russia stopped shipment of Israeli potatoes
Last Tuesday, Russia stopped a shipment of potatoes coming from Israel in the port of Novorossiysk after it was allegedly found to carry agricultural pests, reports the Russian agency “Sputnik”. MORE
Record harvest for Bangladeshi potato farmers
Farmers in Rangpur, Bangladesh have harvested a record 1.8 millions tons of potato, for which they have been receiving good prices in Rangpur agriculture zone. Sources in the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) report that, a target of producing 1.8 million tons of potato was fixed from 91,921 hectares of land in all five districts in the region during the just ended Rabi season. MORE
UPGC – April Newsletter HERE
AAFC / InfoHort Potato Reports HERE
USDA – Daily National Potato and Onion Report HERE
Crops
North American Grains/Oilseed Report – Canola Firms With Currency Action
THE ICE Futures Canada canola market ended mostly higher on Tuesday with the July contract propped up by action in the Canadian currency. The Canadian dollar was roughly one cent lower compared to its US counterpart which made it more attractive to domestic crushers and foreign buyers. MORE
ICE Futures Canada Tuesday: Canola futures prices mostly higher, barley unchanged HERE
PM markets: grains tumble, on US crop report, dollar bounce HERE
U.S. grains: Profit-taking sparks sell-off
Chicago Board of Trade corn, soybean and wheat futures fell on Tuesday, pressured by a round of profit-taking and technical sales, traders said. Soybeans set back from a 15-month high hit during the overnight session while corn and wheat faced resistance after failing to take out last week’s peaks, sparking a sell-off led by investment funds. MORE
Grain Farmers of Ontario – Daily Commodity Report HERE
More Futures Prices HERE and HERE
General Interest
U.S. EPA pulls back report saying glyphosate not likely carcinogenic
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday pulled a report offline that concluded glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans, saying the document was inadvertently published and the agency had not finished its review of the chemical, a key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicides. MORE
The berries and the bees: See how insects could make a big breakthrough in strawberry science
Todd Mason stands among long rows of strawberry plants and taps a white box the size of a 12-pack of beer. The box starts to buzz – loudly. “Can you hear them?” he asks. MORE
Bedding with soy straw
These farmers are learning the tricks to make it work in the field and in the barn MORE
Digital agriculture the next big thing, says Monsanto official
Farmers adopted GM crops faster than the company expected and the same could occur with precision farming MORE
Regular Updates
CFA in Action – May 3 HERE
ACORN E-News – May 2016 HERE
PEIDAF Agriculture Marketing Report – April 29 HERE
Ontario Farm Market Summary – Tuesday, May 3 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)
May Dates:
May 7th-8th– Stratford May 11th-12th– Stratford
May 16th-17th– Summerside May 24th-25th– 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.
