AC FEED CENTRE FIRE . . . BLUEBERRY GROWERS IN THE MARITIMES STRUGGLE TO BREAK EVEN . . . MARIJUANA IN BORAGE CROP TRACED TO SUSPECT SEED . . . EXHIBITION PARK DEADLINE EXTENSION SOUGHT . . . SCOURGE NO MORE: CHEFS INVITE CORN FUNGUS TO THE PLATE . . .       
OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST...

AC FEED CENTRE FIRE
Source: Truro Daily News
Firefighters from multiple Colchester County departments were called to a feed centre fire at Dalhousie Agricultural Campus on Monday evening. The fire, which was called in at about 6:30 pm, ignited at the Ruminant Animal Centre on College Road in Bible Hill. No injuries to staff or animals were reported. (read more)

BLUEBERRY GROWERS IN THE MARITIMES STRUGGLE TO BREAK EVEN
Source: CBC.ca
It’s blueberry season in the Maritimes, but many growers are having a difficult time breaking even. “It’s very difficult. I am somewhat demoralized by the price for sure,” said Russell Weir, owner of McKay’s Blueberries in Pennfield, N.B. Weir said the price of blueberries is exactly the same as when he bought his blueberry farm in 1988. “That summer we picked and sold our berries and received 50 cents a pound. It’s 27 years later, we receive 50 cents a pound,” said Weir. “The cost of production has naturally gone way way up. And it’s very very difficult to even break even.” (read more)

MARIJUANA IN BORAGE CROP TRACED TO SUSPECT SEED
Source: Island Farmer
When Technology Crops International sourced borage seed to supply its contracted growers, they ended up getting a lot more than they bargained for. The seed, sourced from Saskatchewan, was found to contain cannabis sativa, more commonly known as marijuana. In July, over 1,200 marijuana plants were discovered in a field of borage in Traveller’s Rest, mixed in with the legitimate crop. Police first thought the seeds had come from an outdoor grow-up that must have been in the immediate area sometime in the past, and it was thought to be an isolated incident. (read more)

EXHIBITION PARK DEADLINE EXTENSION SOUGHT
Source: The Chronicle Herald
There appears to be interest from within some level of government in acquiring Exhibition Park. Monday was the deadline for another provincial, federal, or municipal government entity to express interest in the Prospect Road property. The province announced July 30 that the complex will close Nov. 16. The aging facility, which needs an estimated $9 million in repairs and upgrades, was declared surplus earlier this month and put up for sale. (read more)

SCOURGE NO MORE: CHEFS INVITE CORN FUNGUS TO THE PLATE
Source: NPR
One evening last July, Nat Bradford walked along rows of White Bolita Mexican corn at his Sumter, S.C., farm, and nearly wept. All 1,400 of the corn plants had been overtaken almost overnight by corn smut, recalls Bradford, who’s also a landscape architect. The smut, from a fungus called Ustilago maydis, literally transforms each corn kernel into a bulbous, bulging, bluish-grey gall. It is naturally present in the soil and can be lofted easily into the air and onto plants. (read more)