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: 8:30am to 4:30pm For technical information, call the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or visit the OMAFRA website: www.ontario.ca/omafra
New “Cashcropper” app for rotations
Crop prices are certainly more sluggish now than they have been over the past two seasons. Some farmers question whether they should tweak their cropping rotation in the short term or stay the course. Now there is a smartphone app, called “cashcropper” that will help you to evaluate:
1. The monetary value that different crop rotations bring to your operation.
2. How much phosphorus and potassium is being removed from the soil by each crop in a rotation
3. How much nitrogen is required to reach anticipated grain yield in each crop.
The cashcropper app allows Ontario grain growers to compare the net profitability and fertility requirements for different crop rotations within a given field.
This app is powered by over 30 years of rotational yield response data from the University of Guelph. It takes into account the user’s location, soil type and tillage practices for corn, soybeans and wheat.
The real costs of “yield driven” nutrient removal for each crop is included in the calculation. The app is pre-loaded with default OMAFRA yield values by county and township as well as input costs. Users can input their own data to assess real and hypothetical rotation decisions. Download the app at: www.cashcropper.ca
Mike Cowbrough, Weed Specialist, OMAFRA
Business retention and expansion
Business retention and expansion (BR+E) is a structured action-oriented and community-based approach to business and economic development. It promotes job growth by helping communities learn about issues as well as opportunities for local businesses and sets priorities for projects to address these needs. BR+E projects are led by municipalities/organizations. Volunteers are trained prior to conducting confidential interviews with businesses in their communities.
Provincial BR+E survey results are available to support communities undertaking BR+E projects. This data helps with community analysis and provides context which can be used to benchmark local results. The Provincial results are compiled from 3,100 surveys from the 73 projects that contributed data to the online data management system between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2014.
Some of the interesting results include:
– 38% of businesses surveyed stated they plan to expand
– 71% of businesses considered the local business climate either good or excellent
– 40% of businesses stated that they had difficulties hiring new employees
To view the full 2009-2014 BR+E Provincial Survey Results please visit http://slidesha.re/1CLCRXd
Reminder – precision dairy technology workshop
Precision Dairy Technology Workshop is being held on, March 25 from 10am to 3:30pm, coffee at 9:30am in the Wellington Room at the Grand River Raceway, Elora, ON, 7445 Wellington County Road 21, Elora, ON.
Ontario dairy producers considering a new technology or who want to hear how others are using new technologies on their farm should plan to attend this one day workshop.
Topics covered: NIR feed analysis with Harvest Lab: What can it do on your farm?; How we use Herd Navigator; Calf-Robots: The Story from our Farm; Buying a new Technology: How we Made the Decision; Cow-Manager: What can it Deliver to Managers? Automatic, Smart or Remote: The New Generation of Environmental Controls on Dairy Farms; Classical Veterinary Advice in a New Age Era; Afimilk: How we’re Using It and Automatic Body Condition Scoring.
The day is organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Registration is $20 (includes lunch) and can be done by calling the Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300.
Coming Events
April 10 pm. Deadline: Applications for 2015 Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence Program. For more information please check the OMAFRA website at: www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/premier_award/guidebook.htm or email: premiersagrifoodinnovationaward@ontario.ca.
