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AtlanticFarmer is an online news service that publishes original content and gleans the best information from the web, so we can offer our readers access to a wide variety of articles from one easy source.
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Source: NPR
From plant factories fueled by the magenta glow of blue and red LED lights, to the 30-foot tall Ferris wheel for plants in Singapore, we’ve shown you the design possibilities for growing vegetables up instead of out. (read more)
Source: UBC.ca
Researchers have genetically engineered trees that will be easier to break down to produce paper and biofuel, a breakthrough that will mean using fewer chemicals, less energy, and creating fewer environmental pollutants. “One of the largest impediments for the pulp and paper industry as well as the emerging biofuel industry is a polymer found in wood known as lignin,” says Shawn Mansfield, a professor of Wood Science at the University of British Columbia. (read more)
Source: gov.pe.ca
All winter, 10-year-old Isaac Drake got off the school bus and headed to the cattle barn just up from his family’s Vernon River farm to check up on his steer. He cared for the 1255-pound Golden Charolais by feeding it, brushing it, walking it, and washing it. The steer later sold for $2.70/pound. He didn’t give it a name. Last week he brought it to the Easter Beef show and sold it to Cardigan Feed Services (read more)
Source: LA Times
Come grilling season, expect your sirloin steak to come with a hearty side of sticker shock. Beef prices have reached all-time highs in the U.S. and aren't expected to come down any time soon. Extreme weather has thinned the nation's beef cattle herds to levels last seen in 1951, when there were about half as many mouths to feed in America. (read more)
Source: ThinkFarm
Atlantic Canada’s Farmers’ Market Sector Conference, May 13, 9am. Truro, N.S. We share a vision of a strong local food system across Atlantic Canada with farmers’ markets at the heart. With that shared vision in mind, Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia (FMNS) is very proud to announce Atlantic Canada’s Inaugural Farmers’ Market Sector Conference. (read more)
Source: NSWOOA
NSWOOA AGM, Saturday, April 12, Old Barns, N.S. Registration and coffee, 8:15-8:45am; Call to Order, 8:45. The cost (which includes lunch) is $15 for members and $20 for guests. Reservations are not required, but they would be appreciated. (read more)
Source: ACZISC
The Atlantic Coastal Zone Information Steering Committee (ACZISC) is inviting people to participate in a survey investigating the awareness and use of the State of the Scotian Shelf Report. This survey replaces the regular annual survey from the ACZISC for the Coastal Update Newsletter. (read more)
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)
FarmMatch
ree site you can add your location & info to for farm gate sales (read more)
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)
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)
Source: FCC
The Canadian Pork Council says it’s disappointed with a court decision that rejects blocking the start of the United States’ mandatory country of origin labelling. A three panel judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided last week to rejecting the food industry challenge to block implementation of COOL. (read more)
Source: NSFA
N.S. Young Farmers is holding their Annual General Meeting on April 12 with this year’s theme being “Nutrients for Tomorrow.” Mark the date for Saturday April 12 at Big Al’s Lounge in Tatamagouche starting at 10am, join us for a great networking opportunity with other young farmers from across the province. (read more)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Source: NPR
At Green’s Sugarhouse in Poultney, Vt., visitors are gathered around four squeeze bottles of maple syrup, sampling them under brand-new labels. Vermont recently replaced its syrup grading system and now uses new names that make different syrups sound more like wine or expensive coffee. (read more)
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)
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)
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