A weekly report prepared by the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).
EMERGING MILK QUALITY ISSUES CONFERENCE
A conference for producers, veterinarians and advisors June 20, 21 and 22 in Guelph.
A unique opportunity occurs this June in Guelph, Ontario. For only the second time ever, the regional meeting of the National Mastitis Council (NMC) is being held in Canada.
Jointly hosted by the Ontario Bovine Practitioners and Dairy Farmers of Ontario, the meeting will bring dairy producers, veterinarians and advisors together with invited experts to share experiences and gain knowledge about milk quality issues.
With a focus on team building to solve milk quality problems, the event offers a day of cutting-edge speakers, a day of hands-on workshops, an evening banquet with dairy advocate Dr. Andrew Samis and a concluding farm tour.
The conference will provide education and a chance to pick up new practical skills that can be applied to existing problems and will take Ontario’s milk quality to a higher level.
The meeting starts with a full day of workshops that cover topics such as hands-on milking equipment function evaluation, milk quality records analysis, milking time assessments and planning a robot milking facility.
During the second day, the speaker session, some of the topics are bedding and mastitis, compost bedding, trouble-shooting robotic milking and the Dutch experience with restricted antibiotic use. Lastly, on day three, the conference concludes with farm tours to show off interesting features affecting milk quality. The full conference program content, scheduling and registration links are at www.oabp.ca. For more information you can contact Ann Godkin at ann.godkin@ontario.ca. Early bird pricing for registration ends May 31.
IT’S COLT’S-FOOT TIME AGAIN
by John C. Benham, weed inspector, Wellington County
Now that the snow is gone – beware, those bright yellow flowers are appearing now. Many times they are confused with dandelions. Remember the dandelion has a smooth flower stem and the Colt’s-Foot flower stem has scales.
Very few leaves will be present at flowering time. Make note of the location so it can be destroyed later in the season. Do whatever is necessary to eliminate the flower heads before they set seed.
I am told each flower head will contain about 3,500 seeds, similar in structure to a dandelion. They are distributed far and wide by the wind. If the seed lands on bare soil it will establish itself and become extremely competitive, smothering out all competing crops with its dense canopy of leaves. Its underground creeping root system rapidly expands the patch.
Glyphosate is most effective in controlling this noxious weed when applied in late July and August when the plant is storing root reserves for next year. Check the patch later since often there will be leaves under the canopy that do not receive the spray. Later, when all the living plants are destroyed recheck the spot since it is an inviting spot for new seedlings. It will likely require several years to eliminate an established patch.
Keep in mind that Colt’s-foot is a noxious weed under the Weed Act and must be destroyed. Be sure to meet the requirements of the Cosmetic Pesticide Act.
I can assure you that if you choose to ignore this plant, it will never diminish or leave on its own accord.
Check out those early yellow flowers and take appropriate action.
COMING EVENTS
May 25 – Deadline to apply for Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence 2018. For more information, contact the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca.
