A weekly report prepared by the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). If you require further information, regarding this report, call the Elora Resource Centre at 519-846-0941. Office hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For technical information, call the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or visit the OMAFRA Website: www.omafra.gov.on.ca
SAVE THE DATE!! FARMSMART CONFERENCE and BEEF SYMPOSIUM ANNOUNCED!
(GUELPH) – Plans are well underway for the 2012 FarmSmart Conference and farmers and agri-business personnel will want to circle Sat. Jan. 21, 2012 on their calendar and be sure to attend the always popular event.
Since its inception in 1998 the leading-edge topics and dynamic speakers assembled by FarmSmart organizers have continued to draw a larger audience with each successive event and this year’s conference did not disappoint, with over 900 farmers, agri-business representatives, faculty and students gathering at the University of Guelph’s Rozanski Hall in January 2011 for the largest FarmSmart Conference to date.
Throughout the daylong event conference delegates will be able to custom design their agenda from the over 50 sessions topics focusing on business, livestock, field crops, energy and the environment, computer applications, global perspectives and general agricultural themes. Sessions run concurrently through the six time slots, with delegates convening for the afternoon keynote address of special guest speaker Guido Hoener, editor of Top Agrar, Germany’s leading monthly farm magazine (circulation approximately 112,000 copies) who will headline as the conference keynote speaker.
Other international speakers confirmed include: Ken Ferrie, an independent consultant and co-founder of Crop- Tech Consulting in Illinois; and Virgil Robinson, an outstanding fundamental and technical analyst with over 35 years experiences whose analysis of commodity market activity is highly regarded on the national American speaking circuit.
Leland (Lee) Leachman of Leachman Cattle, in Colorado is the keynote speaker for the Beef Symposium, held in conjunction with the FarmSmart Conference, speaking on “The Ten Game Changers for Livestock Production in 2020.” Leachman Cattle is respected worldwide as a leader in objective selection criteria and composite cattle production.
The 14th anniversary edition of FarmSmart Conference featuring the Beef Symposium will be held Saturday, January 21st at Rozanski Hall, University of Guelph. Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. and the first session is scheduled to begin promptly at 9 a.m. Information and program updates for the conference will be posted online at www.uoguelph.ca/farmsmart and on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/GHSCIA. Look for the official conference brochure distributed in the Tues. Jan. 3, 2012 edition of Ontario Farmer.
The conference is a joint project of the Golden Horseshoe and Heartland Regional Soil and Crop Improvement Associations, in partnership with the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and various agri-business partners.
ENVIRONMENTAL FARM PLAN
by John C. Benham
Although the date of the next EFP workshop has not been set, several farmers have already signed up. Since 2012 is the final year of this phase of the Environmental Farm Plan taking your EFP workshop now will allow you to use that book for at least 5 years even if a new book comes into force. To sign up or for more information, call John at 519-846-3394 or email wellington@ontariosoilcrop.org. You are able to sign up electronically if you wish by going on line at www.ontariosoilcrop.org/workshops/.
GROWING YOUR FARM PROFITS
by John C. Benham
Several farmers are signed up for the next Growing Your Farm Profits workshop on Thursday, January 12th to be completed on Thursday, January 19th. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. For new farmers, improved cost-share opportunities are available to help them set their business goals, improve their farm related skills and develop appropriate business plans. Cost share is now available at 75% of the cost to a cap of $4,500 for training. Total funding available under Agriculture Skills Development is $9,000.
For more information, and to sign up, call John at 519-846-3394 or email: wellington@ontariosoilcrop.org.
2011 CORN PERFORMANCE TRIALS REPORT NOW AVAILABLE
The 2011 Hybrid Corn Performance Trials Report, produced by the Ontario Corn Committee (OCC), is now available at www.gocorn.net. The report and the individual tables are available in PDF format that can be downloaded and printed at home, or they can be viewed online in a spreadsheet format that allows users to sort the list according to their interests. Also available are graphs that illustrate the performance of hybrids relative to the average for their maturity.
The Performance Trials Report will not be distributed with the Ontario Grain Farmer magazine as is has been in the past, because of a change in publication schedule. As a result, the OCC will not be printing reports this year.
Growers who are unable to access the trial results from the website, may call Grain Farmers of Ontario at 1-800-265-0550 or OMAFRA’s Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or email: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca and they will mail out a printed copy.
COMING EVENTS: 2012:
Jan. 4 & 5 19th Annual Southwest Agricultural Conference, University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus. Watch for details at: http://www.southwestagconference.ca/.
Jan. 4 – 6 Central Ontario Agricultural Conference – held at Georgian College, 1 Georgian Drive, Barrie (Duckworth & Bell Farm Road entrance). This is a 3 day series of educational programming for farmers. This conference is formerly known as “Ag Info Days”, and consists of a series of themed days for various farm commodities, accompanied with industry trade show booths & displays. Registration costs $25, or $30 including a hot lunch. For information see: http://www.centralontarioagconference.ca/ or contact Connie Brown: 519-726-9300 ext. 1224.
Jan. 4 & 5 19th Annual Southwest Agricultural Conference, University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus. Watch for details at: http://www.southwestagconference.ca/.
Jan. 4 – 6 Central Ontario Agricultural Conference – held at Georgian College, 1 Georgian Drive, Barrie (Duckworth & Bell Farm Road entrance). This is a 3 day series of educational programming for farmers. This conference is formerly known as “Ag Info Days”, and consists of a series of themed days for various farm commodities, accompanied with industry trade show booths & displays. Registration costs $25, or $30 including a hot lunch. For information see: http://www.centralontarioagconference.ca/ or contact Connie Brown: 519-726-9300 ext. 1224.
Jan. 4-10 Grey Bruce Farmers Week – Themed education days for Beef, Dairy, Goat, Sheep, Horse, Youth, Ecological and Crop Farmers, all held with an industry Trade Show at the Elmwood Community Centre. For information see: http://www.greyagservices.ca/grey-bruce-farmers-week.html , or call Grey Agricultural Services at: 519-986-3756.
Jan. 21 Farm$mart Agricultural Conference, Rozanski Hall, University of Guelph. Mark your calendar and watch for details at http://www.uoguelph.ca/farmsmart/.
