Ontario’s ginseng growers are getting support from the province through the creation of an industry-led pilot loan guarantee program that will help with cash flow and storage of ginseng until market conditions improve. The Ginseng Storage Loan Guarantee Pilot Program will enable participating farmers to borrow up to $1 million against the value of their […] Read more
Loan guarantee program to help ginseng growers weather market storm
Preparing for African swine fever
Canada is developing a plan and producers urged to tighten biosecurity
African swine fever (ASF) has now been reported in 24 countries since first found in several Chinese locations in 2018. “This is very alarming,” Christa Arsenault, national ASF coordinator with Animal Health Canada, told delegates at the Banff Pork Seminar last month. “ASF was considered to be a relatively stable disease up until that point […] Read more
Winter canola yields top 2021 Canola Challenge
Dry spring and hot summer helped some counties gain big yields last year
Winter canola was the top yielder in the 2021 Canola Challenge, with the highest-yielding field producing just over 5,100 pounds per acre. The Canola Challenge is an annual competition held by the Ontario Canola Growers Association (OCGA). New to the challenge this year was the separation of spring and winter canola into their own categories, […] Read more
Soybeans have a role in climate smart agriculture
Research priorities will focus on increasing yields and reducing climate impact
Soybean production could play a significant role in meeting not only economic, but also environmental sustainability goals. Soybean researchers are already pivoting to try to meet the language set out by federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) Ministers of Agriculture last November, including greater focus on carbon impacts. Why it matters: Industry stakeholders are looking to […] Read more
Editorial: Let’s pick our battles wisely
What began as a “Freedom Convoy” of a small group of truckers driving to Ottawa to protest against the Jan. 15 mandate that Canadian truckers need to be vaccinated to cross the U.S. border quickly escalated into a weeks-long rally in the downtown core of the nation’s capital. Even before the trucks arrived groups looking […] Read more
Editorial: Worker safety and food security a balancing act
Will growers who rely on the labour of Temporary Foreign Agricultural Workers (TFAWs) face yet another season of uncertainty due to COVID-19 housing and quarantine rules? It certainly looked that way in mid-January when Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, the acting Medical Officer of Health (MOH) for Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) issued a letter stating no […] Read more
Opinion: Relief on drying costs needed to meet federal sustainability goals
In the past few years we’ve heard numerous times that the federal government wants agriculture to be an economic driver for Canada. It also wants agricultural production to be greener. Both can certainly be achieved. But changes to the federal carbon tax scheme, the Greenhouse Gas Polluting Act, need to be considered for this to […] Read more
OFA to focus on connecting with Ontarians in 2022
New pilot project will complement existing public outreach initiatives
The leadership of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) was re-elected by the Board of Directors for a second consecutive term at its annual general meeting Nov. 22. This is the second year the President and Executive Committee has been elected by the board of directors following a bylaw ratification which was voted in by […] Read more
Farmtario has a new editor
Glacier FarmMedia is pleased to announce that Kristy Nudds is the new editor of Farmtario. For the past eight months she has been associate editor of Farmtario, taking on increasing responsibility for Farmtario content and production. Farmtario’s founding editor John Greig is taking on a new role, Director of Strategy and Projects, Regional Director for […] Read more
Inaugural Great Lakes YEN pilot project a cross-border success
Highest yielding wheat growers all from Ontario
Data gathered from the inaugural Great Lakes YEN pilot project has provided some key insights into how growers in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the U.S. achieved higher wheat yields. Results show that total biomass, number of heads per square metre, total nitrogen applied and nutrient uptake were associated with higher yields, which […] Read more
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