EASTERN CANADA RAMPING UP WOOD PELLET EXPORTS . . . STEWARDSHIP AWARD OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS . . . BEEF PRICES SIZZLE . . . N.B. JUDGE ORDERS RELEASE OF SHALE GAS CONTRACTS . . . SMALL FARMS ARE REAL FARMS

EASTERN CANADA RAMPING UP WOOD PELLET EXPORTS
Source: Pulp and Paper Canada
North America exported wood pellets valued at over US$650 million in 2013, a dramatic increase of more than 250 percent in just two years, according to data compiled by the North American Wood Fiber Review. The U.S. South shipped almost three million tons last year, which was almost two-thirds of total export volume from North America. The expansion in Canadian pellet export has been less dramatic than that of the U.S., but 2013 volumes were still more than 50 percent higher than in 2011, with British Columbia shipping a majority of the volume. (read more)

STEWARDSHIP AWARD OPEN FOR APPLICATIONS
Source: ThinkFarm
The Environmental Farm Plan team is now accepting nominations for the 2014 Environmental Farm Stewardship Award. Have you or a farmer in your area implemented projects to protect water, soil quality or wildlife habitat? Maybe you use improved soil management practices, have installed energy efficient technologies, or demonstrate water conservation. Farmers are doing a lot of environmental sustainable activities every day; this award is an opportunity to give them recognition for their work. You can nominate your neighbour, a friend, CSA Farm, or submit an application for your own farm. (read more)

BEEF PRICES SIZZLE
Source: FCC
The North American cattle market is setting new price records as strong consumer demand puts pressure on tight supplies, says an industry expert. The value of a 500 to 600 pound feeder steer in Western Canada has jumped nearly $35 per hundredweight, or 18 percent, since the beginning of January. A cattle producer with a 550-pound steer is receiving over $400 more than the total price paid for the same steer in May 2013. “We had some catching up to do coming out of last fall,” says Sandy Russell with Spring Creek Land and Cattle Consulting in Outlook, Sask. “That it sustained into May is most unusual for the traditional trend of the feeder market.” (read more)

N.B. JUDGE ORDERS RELEASE OF SHALE GAS CONTRACTS
Source: The Chronicle Herald
A judge in Fredericton has ordered the New Brunswick government to release the contracts of consultants it hired to evaluate shale gas royalties. David Coon, the leader of the province’s Green party, filed an access-to-information request in February 2013 asking for the documents. But Finance Minister Blaine Higgs rejected the request for several reasons including that the government considered them confidential. (read more)

SMALL FARMS ARE REAL FARMS
Source: PEI ADAPT Agri-News
Questions of small farms and large farms invariably raise questions such as “how large is large and how small is small?” A small beef cattle ranch obviously requires more acres than a large poultry operation and a large vegetable farm needs fewer acres than a small wheat farm. The USDA calls any farm with less with than $250,000 in annual sales a small farm; others draw the line at $50,000 a year. I think large and small exists mainly in the mind of the farmer rather than in farm size or sales. (read more)