NEW PROMOTION PROVING POSITIVE FOR PORK’S PROFILE   . . . MOOSE SEX CORRIDOR PROJECT GETS HELP FROM UNITED STATES . . . FEEDING MANAGEMENT PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN A DRY YEAR . . . PHOSPHORUS: TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING? . . . NATURE WRITING RETREAT  . . . OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST...

NEW PROMOTION PROVING POSITIVE FOR PORK’S PROFILE
Source: FCC
Ontario’s pork sector is reporting positive results from a new branding campaign that seizes on the popularity of local food grown by local farmers. The point-of-purchase campaign features a stylized check-mark symbol above the words Ontario Pork. Supporting collateral – shelf dividers, stickers for packaging, counter signage, label rolls, and shelf danglers – describe the product as “nutritious, delicious, and farm-fresh.” The campaign was launched last year with 12 retailers, and is now at almost 60 users – retailers, as well as food service distributors, restaurants, and farmers who sell at farm gate. A recent survey commissioned by Foodland Ontario showed 35 percent of survey participants recognized the Ontario Pork check-mark symbol. (read more)

MOOSE SEX CORRIDOR PROJECT GETS HELP FROM UNITED STATES
Source: SackvilleTribunePost.com
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is closing in on two new properties in Nova Scotia to help grow a wilderness corridor that connects with New Brunswick. The land purchases total 176 acres (71 hectares) along the Northumberland Strait on the Chignecto Isthmus, a priority linkage area. The Open Space Institute (OSI) in upstate New York, has announced it is providing $26,000 U.S. in funding towards the effort. Another $20,000 is needed by July 31 to finalize the acquisitions. (read more)

FEEDING MANAGEMENT PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT IN A DRY YEAR
Source: Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
Designing or developing a feeding management program requires a 365-day focus that includes pasture and winter-feeding management. This is particularly important this year because of the dry conditions that have dramatically reduced the amount of forage growth in pastures and hay land. “Getting the cow through summer in good body condition and maintaining calf growth rates is the first step,” says Barry Yaremcio, beef and forage specialist, Alberta Ag-Info Centre, Stettler. “Nutritional requirements of a lactating cow are 25 percent higher than a cow in mid-pregnancy. If the cow does not consume sufficient energy and protein because of limited forage availability, milk production will be reduced. For a young calf, it takes seven pounds of milk to provide enough nutrients to have the calf grow by one pound.” If cows are thin or thinner than what is wanted, supplementing grain or higher quality pellets on pasture is an option. (read more)

PHOSPHORUS: TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?
Source: Modern Farmer
For two days last August, 500,000 residents in and around Toledo, Ohio, were told not to drink, cook with, or bathe children in city water. An enormous algae bloom was suffocating the part of Lake Erie where the intake for the municipal water supply is located. The poisonous pea-green soup could be seen from outer space. Not all algae blooms are hazardous to human health, but the strain that invaded the Toledo shore produces a toxin called microcystin, which, if ingested, can cause ailments ranging from nausea to liver damage. The western end of Lake Erie, adjacent to Toledo, is very shallow and as warm as bathwater in mid-summer. Eighty percent of the surrounding watershed is in intensive agricultural production – much of it devoted to corn, which has very high fertilizer requirements. When rain washes nutrients, especially phosphorus, off the fields, the algae population explodes in the warm, dank brew. “It’s the perfect petri dish,” says Terry McClure, whose family farms 4,000 acres of corn, soybeans, and wheat within the 4-million-acre Maumee River basin, west of Toledo. (read more)

NATURE WRITING RETREAT
Source: Harrison Lewis Centre
Join us for a nature writing retreat with Soren Bondrup-Neilsen July 25-26 at the Harrison Lewis Centre on Nova Scotia’s beautiful South Shore. A weekend of honing your writing skills, friendship, thoughtful sharing of ideas and insights, good food, and learning to open your eyes and your mind to the natural world around us. Bondrup-Neilsen (http://www.bondrup.com/) is an ecologist who teaches at Acadia University. As well as being his profession, most of his personal interests involve nature. He is the author of four books – Merging: Contemplations of Farming and Ecology from Horseback; A sound like water dripping: In search of the Boreal Owl; Winter Nature: Common Mammals, Birds, Trees and Shrubs of the Maritimes; Winter on Diamond: An encounter with the Temagami Wilderness. The writers’ weekend will include nature walks to discover and understand our surroundings, followed by individual writing time, and gathering as a group to share and discuss the participants’ work.
HLC@eastlink.ca