4-H NEW BRUNSWICK PROVINCIAL COMMUNICATIONS COMPETITION . . . FARMER HIGHLIGHTS BENEFITS OF THE BACK TO AG PROGRAM . . . N.B. FARMERS HOPING FOR WARM TEMPERATURES AFTER HARSH WINTER . . . NEW TECHNIQUE MAY BE EXPLORED TO CONTROL WIREWORM . . . COMPETITION AND ANTIBIOSIS . . . OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST...

4-H NEW BRUNSWICK PROVINCIAL COMMUNICATIONS COMPETITION
Source: 4-H NB
4-H members will be in Florenceville-Bristol, N.B. on April 25 to compete in the 2015 4-H Provincial Communications Competition. Communication is an important part of the 4-H program in New Brunswick. 4-H members complete and present a prepared speech or demonstration at their 4-H Club level usually during the months of January and February, leading up to the Provincial level competition. The competition will get underway with registration at 9am at the Florenceville Baptist Church, followed by the opening remarks at 9:30 am. Competition will get underway following the opening remarks and will continue throughout the morning, followed with a lunch and presentation of awards to winners at the conclusion of the event. andreacallahan1968@hotmail.com

FARMER HIGHLIGHTS BENEFITS OF THE BACK TO AG PROGRAM
Source: CASA
The Back to Ag program was envisioned to help farmers get back to the work they love – farming. André Veilleux, a maple syrup producer from Quebec, is doing just that thanks to his new stand-up wheelchair. On March 1, 2008, André’s life drastically changed when a maple tree he was felling crushed him, severing his spinal cord, fracturing six vertebrae, and resulting in paraplegia. André would never walk again. His drive and focus have seen him recover in many ways, but he still found some work difficult. “It took two years for my rehabilitation, he says. “And I began to move forward, but every time I wanted to do something, I still needed help.” Through some research, André discovered what exactly he needed – a wheelchair that would help him to stand. casa-acsa.ca

N.B. FARMERS HOPING FOR WARM TEMPERATURES AFTER HARSH WINTER
Source: GlobalNews.ca
New Brunswick farmers are still reeling from the effects of a harsh winter. At La Fleur du Pommier apple orchard, staff says high snowdrifts and heavy snow are ripping their trees apart. Hundreds of trees throughout the orchard have limbs dangling from their trunks. Leopold Bourgeois is the orchard’s co-owner. “Just the weight of the snow, in some places we had 10 feet in the orchard,” he said. “So just the weight and it compacts and grabs the branches and pulls down as it settles.” (read more)

NEW TECHNIQUE MAY BE EXPLORED TO CONTROL WIREWORM
Source: Island Farmer
A technique known as RNA Interference is showing promise in fighting a number of medical conditions and Dr. Robert Coffin is convinced the technique could also play a role in helping to control wireworm. Dr. Coffin, who worked with both the provincial Department of Agriculture and Cavendish Farms, is now a private consultant. He made a pitch for what he hopes will be his latest project during a recent wireworm research seminar held at Red Shores. “We are about to enter a new era in control of insect pests,” he told the growers. “We have to use our brains to outsmart these wireworms.” (read more)

COMPETITION AND ANTIBIOSIS
Source: AARD
Competition and antibioses are two of the ways biocontrol agents can help control plant pests. “Producers are familiar with the concept of competition, as in crowding out weeds in a field using row spacing, stand density, etc.,” says Dustin Morton, commercial horticulture specialist, Alberta Ag-Info Centre, Stettler. “Biocontrol agents can also be used as competition. This could include using Pseudomonas bacteria to block potential entryways for fireblight in fruit crops or Bacillus subtilis to outcompete powdery mildew. While these micro-organisms do not attack or infect the pest itself, their presence may be enough to deter other more problematic species. Alternatively, these agents might infect the plant of concern, inducing a defense response that allows the plant to fend off an attack from another more dangerous pathogen or insect.” (read more)