The 2022 Chatham-Kent Farm Show has been cancelled because the venue is needed for COVID-19 vaccination clinics and virus testing. The show organizers, OP Show Productions Inc. was notified Dec. 15 by the John D. Bradley Centre that the facility would be needed to host vaccination and testing clinics for several months due the increasing […] Read more

Chatham-Kent Farm Show cancelled

AGRIS Co-operative donates $15,000 to Harvest Hands
AGRIS Co-operative (AGRIS) is giving back to its communities with a $15,000 donation to Harvest Hands, a centralized food distribution bank rescuing surplus food from retailers, bakers and growers to help agencies and thousands of families throughout Southwestern Ontario. Jim Anderson, AGRIS ownership committee chair, said in a release “We unanimously wanted to continue giving back to the […] Read more

New home for Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame gallery
The Ontario Agricultural Hall of Fame (OAHF) has relocated its gallery to a new home in Guelph. The OAHF gallery has recently been installed at 1 Stone Road West, Guelph on the main floor, near the conference centre. This is the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) building located at the corner […] Read more

New grain elevator sets out to celebrate agriculture, share blessings
Bacres Grain is a new grain elevator built by the Buurma family of Watford, Ont. Buurmas says they hope the elevator, located in Alvinston, will be able to have an impact that goes beyond business, and have a positive impact on the wider world. Farmers who market their crops through Bacres Grain will have the […] Read more
AAC executive role changes
The Agricultural Adaptation Council’s (AAC) Executive Director, Terry Thompson, has announced his retirement at the end of 2021. Melanie DiReto, currently AAC’s manager of finance and administration, will replace Thompson effective Jan. 1, 2022. Thompson has been with AAC for 23 of the organization’s 26-year history, first joining in a financial management capacity in 1998 […] Read more

Province further invests in meat processing capacity
The federal and provincial governments recently announced a commitment of up to $7 million to rapidly increase processing capacity in meat processing plants across Ontario. Through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the second intake of the Meat Processors Capacity Improvement Initiative will provide up to $150,000 per project for handling and processing equipment to increase efficiency, […] Read more

Draft update to the dairy cattle Code of Practice released for public comment
A draft update to the Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle is now open for public comment. The public comment period allows all stakeholders to provide their input on the proposed updates to the 2009 Code. The draft Code and the online platform to submit comments are now accessible at: www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice/dairy-cattle. […] Read more

OFA Executive returns for another term
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) Board of Directors gave Peggy Brekveld and the entire Executive Committee a vote of confidence as the leadership group was re-elected 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 […] Read more

First-in-Canada One Health degree coming to University of Guelph
One Health studies connections among human, animal and environment health
The University of Guelph will introduce a first-of-its-kind Bachelor of One Health (BOH) degree program in fall 2022. “This is the first four-year undergraduate degree devoted to One Health in Canada,” said Dr. Brian Husband, associate dean, academic, in the College of Biological Science (CBS) and a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology. The COVID-19 pandemic and […] Read more

Report agricultural boilers and pressure vessels by Nov. 30
The deadline for owners and operators of existing agricultural boilers and pressure vessels (BPVs) to report their BPV devices is November 30, 2021. Devices can be reported to the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) on its website. This deadline, which followed the Information Order issued in October, gives agricultural owners and operators an additional […] Read more