LEND A HAND TO NATURE THIS EARTH DAY . . . CATTLE AT THE NSPE . . . NEW MAP OF CANADA SHOWS MORE ARCTIC SEA ICE  . . . DAY-NEUTRAL STRAWBERRY SEASON EXTENSION USING LOW-TUNNEL ORGANIC PRODUCTION SYSTEMS . . . CANADA BLOCKING POULTRY FROM MONTANA, SOUTH DAKOTA . . . OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST...

LEND A HAND TO NATURE THIS EARTH DAY
Source: NCC
It’s April: a time when the sun shines a little brighter, birds chip louder, and all around there’s a good vibe emanating from nature. With Earth Day (April 22) just around the corner, there are many ways to celebrate, give back, and lend a hand to nature. Conservation organizations like the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) encourage citizens to participate at all levels on this day and beyond. Just as drops of water make a mighty ocean, each small pledge for the environment can be a contribution to improving ecological conditions in your corner of the country, wherever it is. And making a commitment is as easy as one, two and three! (read more)

CATTLE AT THE NSPE
Source: AtlanticFarmer.com
There will not be a dairy show or a beef show at the Nova Scotia Provincial Exhibition in Truro in 2015. Dairy and beef cows will be exhibited, accompanied by information pieces that will assist in the general education of attendees. Fair officials feel the public will be better served by this change.

NEW MAP OF CANADA SHOWS MORE ARCTIC SEA ICE
Source: The Globe & Mail
In at least one way, the federal government’s new map of Canada pales by comparison to its predecessor, thanks to a generous splash of white across the top. The change has to do with the way Arctic sea ice is represented relative to the previous version of the map. At a glance, the update – unveiled on Wednesday – makes it seem as though there is more ice now than there was in 2006, when the previous edition was published. Whereas the older version of the map showed only that part of the sea ice that permanently covered Arctic waters year round at that time, the new edition uses a 30-year median of September sea-ice extent from 1981 through 2010. September sea ice hit a record low in 2012 and is projected to decline further. The change means there is far more ice shown on the 2015 version of the map than on its predecessor. (read more)

DAY-NEUTRAL STRAWBERRY SEASON EXTENSION USING LOW-TUNNEL ORGANIC PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
Source: Organic Friends’ E-Zine
For the last two years, our main objective was to conduct day-neutral strawberry trials using a low tunnel organic production system. To make fresh, locally grown strawberries available for an extended season, we established six day-neutral strawberry cultivars in raised beds using plasticulture with and without tunnels. We harvested day-neutral strawberry fruit from mid-July through mid-October 2013/2014 at the West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC) Morris site, the University of Minnesota St Paul campus site, and two farmer-cooperator sites. (read more)

CANADA BLOCKING POULTRY FROM MONTANA, SOUTH DAKOTA
Source: FCC
Canada is blocking cross-border shopping for raw poultry, eggs and live birds from another border state, after H5N2 avian flu was confirmed in central Montana. CFIA expanded restrictions that block travellers to Canada from H5N2-positive states from bringing in live birds, hatching eggs, eggs, yolks, egg whites, feathers, poultry manure, poultry litter, laboratory materials containing poultry products or byproducts, and any poultry meat other than “fully cooked, canned, commercially sterile meat products.” As of early April, Canada’s restrictions apply to such products from both Montana and South Dakota, on top of previously announced restrictions on those products from the border states of Minnesota, Washington and Idaho, and from California, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri and Oregon. The restrictions also apply to commercial imports of live poultry, birds, and raw or untreated poultry products from the specific quarantine zones within the affected states. (read more)