A weekly report prepared by the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) and the Ministry of Rural Affairs (MRA). If you require further information, regarding this report, call the Elora Resource Centre at 519-846-0941. Office hours: 8:30am to 5pm For technical information, call the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or visit the OMAF and MRA website: www.ontario.ca/omafra.
ATTENTION DAIRY SHEEP PRODUCERS
19TH DAIRY SHEEP SYMPOSIUM
The 19th Dairy Sheep Symposium is being held at the Cambridge Hotel and Conference Centre, 700 Hespeler Road, Cambridge Nov. 7 to 9. Two days of lectures covering various topics and one day of touring a Nutrition Plant and two farms. Keynote Speaker will be John Ryrie from Dorset, England will be speaking about his 1,000 head flock of dairy sheep.
Attendance at this event is a must if you are interested in exploring the world of sheep dairying. To register please call the OSMA office at 519-836-0043 or email admin@ontariosheep.org. Please check the website at: www.dsana.org for more detailed information.
COMMON BUCKTHORN
by John C. Benham, Weed Inspector
The frosts have taken care of most of the noxious weeds except one – Buckthorn. As you drive the roads and check the fence bottoms you will notice plants still with dark green leaves and some with black berries. These are buckthorns. Those with the berries are the female plants and those with no berries are the male plants.
In recent years this plant has greatly increased in numbers and can become a serious threat to hardwood forests. Since it is a prolific seed producer and is relished by birds that distribute the seeds, the buckthorn will grow in thick stands that shade out new seedlings in the bush. This is a threat to the future of the bush, if there is no new regeneration. For identification, besides the dark green leaves with three to four pairs of veins that curve upward toward the leaf tip, the inner bark is yellow. Also the twigs have a sharp spine instead of a terminal bud.
These plants are on the Noxious Weed List and so must be controlled. Mechanical removal of small plants can be effective, if the complete root is removed. Herbicide sprays can be effective. Painting cut stumps with a strong solution of herbicide has proven to be effective. For more information, call John at 519-846-3394.
OMAF AND MRA RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR FARMERS EXPLORING POTENTIAL OF DEVELOPING LOCAL FOOD MARKETS FOR PRODUCE ADDING VALUE WITH NEW PRODUCTS OR SERVICES
Take what you already produce on your farm and create a new product or service to add to your business’s bottom line. Learn from successful farmers who did it and complete Exploring Value Added Opportunities training that will guide you through the process, includes videos. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/diversifyfarmbus/valueadded.htm.
Selling Food to Ontario
Farmers and commercial buyers share buyer expectations and tips for establishing and maintaining successful buyer/seller relationships. The Selling Food to Ontario video series is ideal for farmers and small scale processors who wish to sell through these various market channels (restaurants, institutions, grocery retailers and processors) http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/sellingfood/index.html;
Selling Directly to Consumers
These Excel-based margin calculators allow producers to compare and calculate their margins for selling directly to consumers. They include:
• The Performance Analysis by Marketing Channel spreadsheet allows you to calculate or compare margins across six distinct market channels including:
a. Roadside stand
b. On-farm market
c. Pick your own/U-pick
d. Farmers’ market
e. Community Supported Agriculture
f. Online store/delivery service
• The On-Farm Processing Recipe Based Costing Tool allows you to analyze the impact of changes in recipe, ingredient costs or packaging size on product margin.
• The Cost of Meat Processing Tool will allow users to calculate the cost of meat processing per meat product by summarizing the costs of animal transport, slaughter, further processing into cuts, and transport cost for meat pickup.
The calculators are available at: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/directfarmmkt/index.html.
COMING EVENTS
Nov. 1 to 10 – Royal Winter Fair, Toronto. For more information visit: www.royalfair.org
Nov. 12 – Sheep Seminar – Ewe got a Plan B – Elma Memorial Community Centre, Atwood from 8:45am – 4pm. For further information call 1-877-424-1300 or email ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca.
Nov. 28 – Forage Focus 2013, Shakespeare Optimist Hall, Shakespeare, ON – 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Keynote speaker: Dr. Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin-Madison. To register please call: 1-877-892-8663 or 519-986-1484. Registration deadline: Nov. 25.
