SALAMANDER’S HEFTY ROLE IN THE FOREST

Source: NY Times
If someone asked you to name the top predator in North American forests, you might think of bears, or maybe Great horned owls. But here’s another answer to think about: woodland salamanders. These skittish, slippery amphibians literally live under a rock, or a log, or any convenient dark and damp forest habitat. As apex predators go, they are mainly small, a few inches long and weighing well under an ounce. (read more)

APRIL FLAVOURS DINNER AND AUCTION

Source: FarmWorks
The April Flavours Gala Dinner and Auction will take place on April 30 at 6 pm at the Louis Millet Community Complex in New Minas. The sit-down dinner is being arranged by the April Flavours Committee and Executive Chef Jake Wright and many local chefs will be preparing delicious food for the guests. The evening will begin with a cocktail hour and viewing of more than $8,000 worth of fabulous new live and silent auction items including tours, accommodations, dinners, lawn mowers, home décor, and many 75 additional items. Guests can use their complimentary drink ticket to sample local wine, beer, and other beverages (read more)

NFU CALLS FOR GOVERNMENTS TO STOP FARMING OUT PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

Source: Island Farmer
The National Farmers Union wants the federal and provincial governments to stop the practice of contracting industry groups to administer their programs. “Personally, I think it is wrong for farmers to be sitting in judgment of other farmers,” said Edith Ling, the women’s district director. It was a hot topic of discussion. (read more)

FARMER HAULING WOOD HAILS HRM VOTE

Source: The Chronicle Herald
Brian Murray is back on the road again — the Hammonds Plains Road, that is. “That’s a great thing," said the owner of Blue Barn Farms on the Hammonds Plains Road, in an interview last week. “That’s the way it always was.” Murray, also chairman of the Hammonds Plains Area Business Association, was responding to Halifax Regional Municipality’s unanimous decision Tuesday to amend a bylaw prohibiting trucks weighing more than 3,000 kilo­grams from using Hammonds Plains Road, except for local pickups and deliveries. (read more)

FOR FARMERS AND BREWERS — THE GREAT CIRCLE OF GRAIN IS SAFE

Source: LA Times
Farmer John and Brewer Bill can breathe a sighs of relief as the FDA announced plans to reevaluate newly proposed regulations to the age-old symbiotic relationship between brewers and farmers. Beer is of course made with copious amounts of grain — mostly malted barley — and most of this grain ends up as waste at the end of the brewing process. Once brewers have extracted all the sugars and enzymes from the grain that they need to make the beer, they’re left with hundreds of pounds of wet, steaming “spent grain.” (read more)

2014 TEST STATION SALE RESULTS

Source: MBTS
On Saturday April 4 the Maritime Beef Testing Society held is 41st Annual Breeding Stock Sale at their facility in Nappan, Nova Scotia. Summary documents listed below will open in PDF format. A list of Bull and Heifer Lots with the purchase price: 2014 MBTS Lot Sales. A summary of Bulls and Heifers as well as sales by Province: 2014 Maritime Beef Test Station Spring Breeding Stock Sale Summary. (read more)

UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH RAW MILK CASE STUDY

Source: rawmilkconsumer.ca
The Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph is hosting a conference on April 22. The theme is Science to Policy. We will use as our exploratory case study current policies relating to raw and pasteurized milk. Our goal is that by engaging a wide spectrum of experts, we will be able to identify and understand how scientific research is and can be used for better policy-making decisions. Experts from various scientific backgrounds will discuss their research on properties, correlations linked with consumption of raw milk, risk assessment, and risk mitigation. (read more)

ENVIRONMENTAL FREE PASSES WERE KEPT QUIET

Source: The Chronicle Herald
Environmentalists say the federal government failed for years to publish hundreds of waivers it granted to organizations that freed them from having to provide information on chemicals, organ­isms and other substances for risk assessments. Mark Butler of the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax said Environment Canada only re­cently published online a backlog of more than 600 waivers dating back to 2006. They dealt with everything from aquatic toxicity tests to data on antibiotics. Butler said the department should have made the information available in the Canada Gazette soon after a waiver had been granted. (read more)

CANADIAN MOVEMENT UNITES

Source: Co-operative News
Historical changes are underway for the co-operative sector in Canada as the country’s two main co-operative federations merge. As of today, the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) and the Canadian Council of Co-operation and Mutuals (Conseil canadien de la cooperation et de la mutualité CCCM) will form the bilingual association Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada. (read more)

SHEEP AND GOAT INTERNAL PARASITE WORKSHOP

Source: ThinkFarm 
Extended Learning at the Dalhousie Faculty of Agriculture is pleased to offer a one day workshop “Does My Farm Have Worms?” to both sheep and goat producers, and veterinarians on Saturday, May 10. This is a one day workshop featuring updates, case studies, and the latest on managing gastro-intestinal parasites in the face of increasing anthelmintic resistance. (read more)

EAST COAST ORGANIC MILK CLOSES ITS DOORS

Source: AtlanticFarmer.com
East Coast Organic Milk is closing after only a year and a half on the shelves. Despite the consumer uptake for the local product, the cooperative found it was unable to compete with products from outside the province that were being sold cheaper than East Coast’s cost of production could match. Only two dairy farms were supplying milk to Cook’s Dairy in Yarmouth where East Coast Organic Milk was being processed. They were unable to grow sales fast enough to cover the cost structure according to Frazer Hunter, whose family owns one of the two farms. Provincial regulations, added to the mounting burden of distribution and shipping costs, were the blows that forced the decision to stop production. 

PROGRAM LOOKS TO GIVE BEES A LEG (OR SIX) UP

Source: NY Times
Helping America’s beleaguered bees could start with something as humble as planting a shrub. In California’s Central Valley, researchers are trying to find assortments of bee-friendly plants that local farmers and ranchers can easily grow, whether in unusable corners and borders of their land or on acreage set aside with government support. (read more)

IS OUR FOREST REALLY OURS?

Source: AtlanticFarmer.com
The great resource give away. Why New Brunswick is poor. Charles Theriault, documentary filmmaker; Don Bowser, international expert on transparency and anti-corruption; Jean-Louis Deveau, shale gas extraction/fracking. Theriault and guests question the management of the greatest natural wealth New Brunswickers possess, the Crown land forest. Moncton Wesleyan Celebration Centre, Saturday, May 3, 1:30pm. Free admission. (read more)

HOMEGROWN SUCCESS FUNDING PROGRAM ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Source: ThinkFarm
The Department of Agriculture’s Homegrown Success Program is now accepting applications and the program guidelines are available online. There have been some significant changes to the Program: The overall funding cap has been reduced and the percentage that will be funded on projects has been reduced. Applications will be accepted up until April 30 and will be evaluated based on the project impact. (read more)