Grain Farmers of Ontario and SGS Canada took a risk in creating the Grains Analytical Testing Laboratory, as a partnership bringing wheat testing to a province with a comparatively small wheat crop. After eight months, and a first harvest of wheat analytics, the Guelph lab’s manager says they have found there is interest in the […] Read more
Ontario cereals lab filling nationwide demand
Technology could open up hay export markets for Ontario
An Ontario hay co-operative hopes to have a double-compaction facility running by 2018, giving it access to global markets for hay. Ontario hay has traditionally been at a shipping cost disadvantage compared to most competitors, as hay headed for Asia or the Middle East has had to be shipped by rail to the West Coast. […] Read more
Lake Erie plan’s farming recommendations released
A federal/provincial action plan to reduce phosphorus loading in Lake Erie has been released for public comment — and many of its recommendations will have implications for farmers in the Lake Erie basin. None of the numerous recommendations are particularly new or surprising and mostly call for using existing funding programs to encourage certain production […] Read more
Ontario names trustee to break tomato impasse
The Ontario government has appointed a trustee to assume the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers’ power to negotiate 2017 contracts with processors for the growing of processing tomatoes in the province. The board of directors of the marketing board has been dismissed until new elections are held, as expected by the end of 2017. “I have […] Read more
Dairy sector still working toward ingredients strategy
The Canadian dairy industry has missed a self-imposed deadline for the Feb. 1 implementation of a national ingredients strategy — but work continues toward that implementation. The strategy is meant to create a lower-priced class of milk, Class 7, to encourage the use of skim milk powder in further-processed ingredients. Ontario has already independently implemented […] Read more
Phosphorus program aims to reduce Lake Erie nutrients
Chatham, Ont. — Henry Denotter’s farms near Kingsville, Ont. are close to the Wigle Creek, which flows into Lake Erie and takes with it any residues it pulls from nature and farmers’ fields. The Wigle Creek subwatershed, west of Leamington, has turned into ground zero in long-term research on how farmers can reduce phosphorus running […] Read more
Corn/soy price ratio favours soybean acres, analyst says
Chatham, Ont. — Most underpinnings for higher corn, soybean and wheat prices appear to have fallen away — leaving biodiesel the only area that could drive higher prices. A growth mandate for U.S. ethanol production ends in 2017, and oil prices continue to stagnate well below the highs of a few years ago, according to […] Read more
Greig: A year of farm policy decisions ahead for Ontario
Ontario’s agriculture minister stands by his decision to halt a process that was expected to open up how processing tomatoes are priced in the province. Jeff Leal’s decision, announced in August, resulted in a Dec. 21 threat from Ontario’s largest tomato processors to significantly cut back their tomato purchases from Ontario farmers in 2017. Processing […] Read more
Ontario dairy sector optimistic with expanding demand
Ontario’s dairy industry is in a period of unprecedented growth, with over 15 per cent more quota going to dairy farmers in less than two years. There are almost certainly more quota increases to come, in order to increase milk production to displace significant volumes of butter now being imported. “It’s an absolutely great time […] Read more
Clubroot arrives in Ontario canola
Ontario has its first case of clubroot disease in canola — and further testing has confirmed clubroot in canola fields across the province. During the 2016 growing season an agronomist in the Verner area of northern Ontario examined a canola field and found the distinctive clubbed roots, said Meghan Moran, canola and edible bean specialist […] Read more
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