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Source: Maritime Beef Test Station
The 41st Annual Breeding Stock Sale will be held this Saturday, April 5, 2014 starting at 1pm. The sale will feature 69 yearling bulls as well as 29 consigned heifers. Please see the sale section on the website for more information. If you are unable to attend in person, you will be able to watch live on the Internet and bid by phone (check back on Saturday at noon). (read more)
Source: Community Wire
Imagine walking along a tree-lined trail, through the fresh spring air and twigs snapping under your feet – maybe you’re on an afternoon stroll with your children or out searching for songbirds. Or, perhaps you’re lending a hand in important conservation work, whilst soaking up the sun and exploring nature’s wonders! This is the kind of opportunity that awaits you when you sign up for outdoor volunteer events. With National Volunteer Week (April 6 -12) right around the corner and spring sprouting before our eyes, many outdoors-loving Canadians are looking for ways to celebrate their altruistic side, while enjoying the much anticipated warmer weather. (read more)
Source: littleriverfolk@hotmail.com
The third annual South Shore Sustainability Expo & Forum, Saturday April 5, 2014. This event is completely FREE to the public. Nova Scotia Community College Gymnasium, 75 High Street, Bridgewater, 9am - 2pm. Do you want to learn more about the sustainable products, services, and activities on the South Shore? The South Shore Sustainability EXPO will feature an exhibitor area of about 30 local businesses and community organizations that are providing “greener” services and products (or ideas and opportunities) in our community. (read more)
Source: ThinkFarm
A hands-on workshop with Av Singh, organic and small scale farming specialist with Perennia at Watershed Farm, Baker Settlement, N.S., April 16, 10am-to 4pm. This workshop will be helpful to everyone from home gardeners to farmers who want to grow healthier crops. (read more)
Source: modernfarmer.com
To save the bees, enlist the human-hive mind. That’s the gist of Open-Source Bee Project’s (OSBP) new project. Earlier this month, the international collaborative of hackers opened a fundraising effort they hope will connect backyard beehives to the Internet. And no, this is not about bringing Netflix to insects. OSBP thinks that a global set of sensors could give scientists new insight into the possible causes of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) – the elusive condition threatening bees and the crops they pollinate. (read more)
Source: Agriville.com
A blackened pasture warms faster on a cold spring day. That starts early grass growth. “Fire is the most underused grass management tool we have,” says Rob Kallenbach, University of Missouri Extension forage specialist. With the long, cold winter followed by a delayed spring, fire may offer a chance to jump-start grass growth by warming the soil. “We know the value of controlled burns on native warm-season grasses. But we don’t realize the value of fire on cool-season grass.” (read more)
Source: NPR
Last week NPR reported on a new campaign from the Center for Biological Diversity that hopes to persuade Americans to cut back on their meat consumption. Their pitch? Eat less meat and you will help save wildlife. While ranching and farming have hurt wildlife and their habitats throughout the West, ranchers are working with Defenders of Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy and other environmental organizations, demonstrating that raising livestock and protecting wildlife can be compatible. (read more)
Source: NSFA
This tool will help determine soil erosion levels on your farm. It will allow you to test different crop rotations and crop management systems (i.e. tillage, cover crop, terracing) to reduce the potential for soil erosion. To use the tool just select your field from the map and input your crop rotation and management practices. Soil erosion levels are calculated based on available soil information, rainfall data and inputs of crops, cropping practices and slope length. (read more)
Source: NSFA
Nova Scotia 4-H is a not-for-profit organization for youth with close to 2,400 members and 900 leaders from across the province. 4-H is one of Canada’s longest-running youth organizations for young people between the ages of seven and 21. Nova Scotia 4-H has an immediate need for a talented Executive Director to provide leadership, direction, and management. (read more)
Source: FCC
Canada Beef is one of the leaders in using social media to connect consumers with ranchers from coast to coast. The latest promotion encourages beef producers and their families to pose for “felfies” – a term combining the words farmer and selfie – a self-portrait usually taken with a smart phone. Over 100 felfies have been submitted over the past couple of weeks from nearly every province. (read more)
Dirk van Loon, the publisher of Atlantic Forestry Review, was inducted into the Nova Scotia Forestry Hall of Fame at a ceremony held March 20 in Truro, in conjunction with the joint meeting of the Nova Scotia Forest Technicians Association, the Canadian Institute of Forestry - Nova Scotia Section, and the Registered Professional Foresters Association of Nova Scotia. Several associates of the magazine were present for the celebration; from left: David Palmer, George Fullerton, David Sutherland, Wim van Loon (the inductee's son, accepting the award on his behalf), and David Lindsay. Also inducted to the Hall of Fame was David Barrett, a veteran lumberman from Beaver Bank, N.S. (Don Cameron photo)
Source: NSWOOA
Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners and Operators Association Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, 12 April 2014 in Old Barns, N.S. The gathering starts at 8:15-8:45 with registration and coffee. (read more)
Source: ThinkFarm
The Municipality of Kings County and the Town of Berwick are holding a Farm Stay Workshop on April 3 from 9am to 2:30 pm in Kentville. Farm Stays are huge in Europe, the U.S., and other regions in Canada. Farm Stays connect consumers to producers, enhance the buy local strategy, offer tourists new experiences, and create new revenue streams for farmers. We want to bring together the stakeholders for this conversation: farmers, tourism, agriculture, municipalities, economic developers, people with ideas and information to share. Have an idea? We’re looking for you to participate. (read more)
Source: AtlanticFarmer.com
4-H members from the Western District 4-H Clubs will be taking part in the Carleton County Spring Show and Sale April 7-9, 2014, at the Northern Carleton Civic Centre in Florenceville-Bristol, N.B. This year 22 of the animals at the show and sale are being raised by 4-H members. Weighing in and tagging will take place on Monday, April 7 beginning at 5pm with the 4-H Judging Competition set for 7:30pm. On Tuesday, April 8 the 4-H Showmanship Classes and Conformation Classes will take place beginning at 10am. Participants will finish off this very busy day with the Awards Banquet being held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bath at 7pm. On Wednesday, April 9 the sale will begin at 1pm. There is no admission charge for this event and it is open to the general public. Visitors are welcome to come and see the 4-H members as they progress through the steps of exhibiting at a show and sale. If you have never watched someone get a beef animal ready for a show this event if for you. Some of these 4-H members recently competed at the National Junior Beef Heifer Show held in connection with The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair this past November in Toronto and they definitely know how to get their animal ready to be a contender for the champion of the show. Check us out April 7-9 at the NCCC!
Our 4-H members in the beef project are very interested and dedicated to the beef industry and through their involvement in the beef project will likely consider a career in farming or a technical or professional career that relates to agriculture. Also through the knowledge gained by completing the beef project when they become a consumer they will have a greater appreciation of the importance of and some of the issues facing the livestock industry. 4-H members must care for their project animals; they must complete a record book on their project animal where they maintain current records of the costs associated with the management of the animal. They will also learn judging skills that will help them as they make decisions each day of their life – from selecting what to have to eat for breakfast, which jeans to buy, etc. They learn to choose things on quality – not on what someone else tells you. Judging will give them the confidence to make a choice, to teach them to organize their thoughts and think while they are talking and to learn to assess the positives and negatives of a situation/article.
4-H in New Brunswick is a rural, community based organization, which develops life skills such as citizenship, cooperation, responsibility, independence, entrepreneurship, leadership, teaching of proper environmental practices and financial management through achievement in project and program work for young people between the ages of six and 21. As the New Brunswick population ages there is a need to facilitate the entry of beginning producers with a strong skill and knowledge base into the farming industry. Our 4-H program is a natural fit to do this as we provide our 4-H members with those skills. We promote agriculture as a viable occupation to young people and provide them with access to programming that will develop their skills to use the technology needed in today's agriculture industry resulting from all the advances being made in science and innovation.
For more information on the 4-H portion of the Carleton County Spring Show and Sale please contact Steven Hunter at 392-8331 or sthunter@xplornet.ca
Source: FCC
There are so many high-quality agriculture tradeshows throughout Canada and internationally. If you’re lucky, you can head out to see a few of them each year – but going to all of them isn’t realistic. FCC Express, is bringing some of the most popular ag tradeshows to you. (read more)
Source: The Chronicle Herald
Loblaw’s plan to sell farmed Aquaculture Stewardship Council-certified Atlantic salmon won’t have any impact on Cooke Aquaculture Inc. of New Brunswick. “We have a good relationship with them,” Cooke spokeswoman Nell Halse said in an interview last week. “We’re a major supplier.” (read more)
Source: ThinkFarm
A four-day course in preparation for writing the Pesticide Applicator's Examination. You will learn the basic principles and practices of safe use, handling, and storage of pesticides. Information will be presented about the ground application of pesticides but does not include aerial spraying. Teaching methods include classroom lectures and problem solving exercises and you will write the Pesticide Applicator’s Examination on the last day of the course. The course fee is $375 and the registration deadline is March 31. Course dates are April 14-17 in Bible Hill. (read more)
Source: FCC
Continued soaring cattle and hog futures on the Chicago Board of Trade have provided some much-needed relief for the western Canadian livestock sector. “The good news is prices are good and they're better than expected,” says Herb Lock of Edmonton’s FarmSense Marketing about cattle values. Tight supplies have helped lift prices, with the United States experiencing the lowest herd numbers since 1952. (read more)
Source: NSFA
The N.S. Young Farmers will hold their Annual Meeting on April 12 starting at 10 am. The meeting will take place at Big Al's Tavern in Tatamagouche and will feature a Soil Fertility Workshop and a tour of an Earltown goat farm. (read more)
Source: The Chronicle Herald
Apple Valley Foods Inc. in Kentville is doubling its frozen fruit pie production with $3.5 million in federal and provincial assistance. Canada’s second-largest pie maker is undergoing a $10-million modernization, including installation of a new oven, packaging equipment, freezers and other machinery to increase production. (read more)
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