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Source: Dal.ca
Dr. Dennis vanEngelsdorp with be giving a free lecture on the subject of Honey Bee Losses in North America: Causes and Consequences at <span>Dalhousie Agricultural Campus Alumni Theatre</span>, <span>Friday, March 7 at 7pm.<strong> </strong></span>This event is being cohosted by Dalhousie University and the Nova Scotia Beekeepers Association and is open to the public. (read more)
Source: FCC
Canada and the United States have reached a common understanding to harmonize the terminology used for wholesale cuts of meat. As of Feb. 24, 2014, selected meat cut names, including chicken breast fillets, beef hip and lamb leg and chops, can be used interchangeably with their U.S. equivalent. The move is expected to benefit the industry by reducing the costs associated with maintaining separate inventories, easing trade and reducing red tape and regulatory burden. (read more)
Source: NSWOOA
For more than a year, the Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association has been meeting with a large and diverse group of organizations that provide services to the owners of private forestland. (read more)
Source: National Geographic
Beer and whiskey lovers, raise a glass to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which has just taken in 20,000 new crop varieties – including 575 types of barley. The seeds, sourced from more than a hundred countries, arrived this week to coincide with the vault’s sixth birthday. (read more)
Source: NPR
We Americans are heavy consumers of meat, and we’re increasingly reminded that eating less of it will shrink our carbon footprint. Growing the crops to feed all those animals releases lots of greenhouse gases. But a new study argues that eating less meat isn’t a very practical climate-protection recipe for developing countries, where demand for meat is rising most quickly. (read more)
Source: The Chronicle Herald
Over the course of his forestry career, my father, a forest technician, woodlot owner, silviculture and harvesting contractor, has come full circle in his approach to dead and dying trees. Once considered a nuisance, he now sees deadwood as an essential component of a healthy forest ecosystem. A graduate of the Maritime Forest Ranger School in 1976, Dad began his career in silviculture as an early proponent of the industrial agro-forestry approach of the day. (read more)
Source: AHES
Join us at this year’s Atlantic Heavy Equipment Show, April 3-4, 2014 at the Moncton Coliseum Complex. Exhibit space is now 100 percent sold out for this jam-packed event, which has now expanded to include 80,000 square feet of outdoor exhibit space. (read more)
Source: FCC
Canada has fallen from fourth to fifth in global biotech acreage, as uptake has started to plateau and new markets emerge in developing countries. Globally, biotech crop acreage is up three percent, according to a new report from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications titled Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops 2013. (read more)
Source: NSFA
A report from Statistics Canada came out this week about how agriculture has changed over the past two decades; CFA’s Scott Ross took a closer look and made the following notes: Fewer farms, with younger operators is one of the major findings of the paper… (read more)
Source: New York Times
Since they arrived in the Great Lakes in the 1980s, two species of mussels the size of pistachios have spread to hundreds of lakes and rivers in 34 states and have done vast economic and ecological damage. These silent invaders, the quagga and zebra mussels, have disrupted ecosystems by devouring phytoplankton, the foundation of the aquatic food web, and have clogged the water intakes and pipes of cities and towns, power plants, factories, and even irrigated golf courses. (read more)
Source: Atlantic Farmer
The annual spring gathering and showcase of all things sustainable will soon be upon us. The third annual South Shore Sustainability Expo & Forum is set to take place in Bridgewater, N.S. on Saturday April 5.
The Expo runs from 9am-2pm in the NSCC campus gymnasium. An educational Forum will follow, from 1:30-4:30pm at Osprey Ridge. Please save the date, as we invite you to participate in these exciting events!
At this time, the Expo is seeking additional businesses and community groups to participate and promote green goods, services, and activities that relate to improving local sustainability. Our focus this year is on actions residents can take to reduce climate change.
This is the third annual Sustainability Expo and the volunteer team is looking to build upon past success. We expect 30 exhibitors and 400 patrons to take part in the event, making it a great local marketing and networking opportunity.
Should you wish to get your business, company, or non-profit organization involved in the Sustainability Expo as a vendor please contact the Expo Team at leif.helmer@nscc.ca for a Vendor Information Package.
Source: The Horse
As equine herpes virus (EHV) gains worldwide significance, international research groups are seeking a better understanding of the disease. Scientists' ultimate goal is to provide horse owners with an effective vaccine with which to protect their horses – and other species as well – in the relatively near future. “Our knowledge about... (read more)
Source: NSFA
The Dalhousie Agriculture Campus is looking to collaborate with farmers and commodity groups to enhance agricultural research. We hope to stimulate interest in the farming community by showing the type of projects that have been done and can be done. A listing of researchers with their area of expertise and a listing of past senior year student project titles is available through NSFA... (read more)
Source: FCC
Canada’s poultry sector is responding to consumer and producer demands with new research designed to help the industry stay competitive while addressing concerns about animal welfare and environmental preservation. On Tuesday, at the Poultry Industry Council headquarters in Arkell, near Guelph, Gerry Ritz, federal minister of agriculture and food, announced the next round of funding for the national poultry science cluster. This cluster – one of 10 national agri-science clusters funded under the federal Growing Canadian Agri-Innovations Program – will receive $4 million from the federal government and about $1.6 million from the industry... (read more)
SOURCE: BBC
A new global monitoring system has been launched that promises "near real time" information on deforestation around the world. Global Forest Watch (GFW) is backed by Google and over 40 business and campaigning groups. It uses information from hundreds of millions of satellite images as well as data from people on the ground... (read more)
Source: Atlantic Beef & Sheep
Nova Scotia farmers wanting to tap into Department of Agriculture funds will have to show how it will make their businesses more profitable, says Minister of Agriculture Keith Colwell. Speaking Feb. 22 at the Nova Scotia Cattle Producers’ annual meeting in Truro, the Minister said that if an ask for financial assistance does not include a business plan spelling out how an “innovative” improvement will make the applicant’s farm more profitable it won’t make it past his desk, “and I will look at every one of them.” The Minister told his audience he grew up on a farm in New Brunswick, and lamented the fact the land is no longer in agriculture. Today he is owner of a highly profitable Dartmouth manufacturing company turning out components for. among other things, cruise missiles and F18 fighter jets. It’s a no-nonsense company where anyone caught wasting time with games or other distractions on their computer is “fired on the spot.” The message between the lines? No-nonsense farmers who turn assistance into greater profitability will enable Colwell to go back to his cabinet colleagues for more farm aid. The Minister also spoke of a need for more meat processing capacity, calling the current situation a “major deterrent” to industry growth. In answer to a question following his address he said his department was taking a look at regulations around provincial abattoirs and on-farm slaughter, pointing out the devastation of markets that could follow sickness being traced back to improper killing or processing of cattle in the province. As part of an overhaul of provincial oversight, some form of inspection of on-farm slaughter is coming, Colwell indicated, saying, “We're going to improve the whole process (and) make it more efficient.” In other business at the AGM, Boyd Crouse, Charolais breeder from Lunenburg County was elected to a three year term as a director-at-large on the NSCP board replacing Terry Prescott who, in addition to serving in that capacity, has been chair of the organization. Crouse joins Ralph Thompson (Zone 3) and Vlad Mudra (Zone 1) as new members of the board. Jim Fraser (member at large) is the new NSCP chair. There was unanimous approval of a move to institute a one-time licensing fee of $100 for livestock dealers in Nova Scotia, to take effect October 1, 2014. A resolution presented by the North Nova Cattle Producers Association calling for implementation of a program of financial assistance toward the purchase of tested bulls and support for a heifer retention program was defeated.
Source: The Labradorian
Elizabeth Penashue begins final walk, denied access to Muskrat Falls. It’ll be a bittersweet journey for her. During the cold winter morning of Feb. 18, the respected Innu elder, along with roughly 15 other Innu members, left Sheshatshiu to begin a nearly month-long walk across the Big Land. (read more)
Source: NSFA
Do you have an idea to apply technology to solve a problem on farm or for consumers? Maybe how to make money from culled fruit or new ways to market lamb? Perhaps it’s an application to track farm employee hours and productivity? Or, maybe you simply have skills you want to apply to innovative ideas that support the local agri-food industry. If you can relate, you’re in the right place! (read more)
Source: BBC
Farmland butterflies have flourished thanks to last year’s hot summer, the charity Butterfly Conservation says. The annual Wider Countryside Butterfly Survey (WCBS) recorded almost double the number of insects compared with the previous year. Long, sunny periods provided perfect breeding conditions for some of the UK’s brightest species, it suggested. But experts warned the mild winter could reverse the insects’ fortunes if they emerged too early for spring. (read more)
Source: NPR
Animal welfare groups go to great lengths to show us how “the sausage” is made inside the factory-style farms that produce most of our meat. For the last few years, they’ve armed activists with video cameras and sent them to document alleged abuses or risky practices undercover. On Thursday, the Humane Society of the U.S. released its latest video – a look at how one hog farm in Kentucky is dealing with PEDv. The fast-spreading virus has killed more than two million piglets in 25 states in the U.S. in since April 2013. (read more)
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