A weekly press release prepared by the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. If you require further information, regarding this press release, please call the Fergus 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.ontario.ca/omafra
ONTARIO BIOGAS SYSTEMS
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
The Ontario Biogas Systems Financial Assistance Program is a $9-million investment that will help farmers and agri-food businesses develop and build generating systems that produce clean energy, reduce electricity costs and contribute to local economies.
There are two phases to the program. Phase 1 funding will cover up to 70 per cent of the eligible costs of carrying out a feasibility study, to a maximum of $35,000. Phase 2 funding will cover up to 40 per cent of eligible construction and implementation costs. The maximum total feasibility and construction cost funding is $400,000 for each anaerobic digester system.
For more information on biogas systems, please visit the Energy Opportunities web page:
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/energy.html
For more information on this program, check the OMAFRA webpage at http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/biogas/index.html or contact the Agriculture Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or email: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca. You can request that the AICC adds your name and contact information to a list if you would like to receive program updates.
BEEKEEPERS FACE LONG WINTER AgriLink
Ontario and Quebec beekeepers faced losses between 30 and 40 per cent of their honeybee colonies last year.
In the United States, the cause had been determined as colony collapse disorder, the phenomenon that was the main factor in the death of at least 30 per cent of the honeybees.
But in Canada, officials with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) never concluded CCD was the cause for the death of 30 per cent of the honeybee population in this country.
Instead, they pointed the finger at Mother Nature and last winter’s unpredictable and warm weather.
The Ontario Beekeepers Association’s (OBA) conference that ended Saturday held several workshops on the mysterious colony deaths. So far, the queen bees are breeding much later in the season. Last fall, the bees were much weaker as they went into their winter state.
SOYBEAN RUST CONFIRMED IN ONTARIO AgriLink
From a Release – RIDGETOWN, ON – Asian Soybean Rust was detected and confirmed for the first time on a soybean plant from a field in Ridgetown, Ontario by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Ottawa.
Over the past month OMAFRA and AAFC conducted tests on sample soybean leaves that confirmed the disease has spread through wind-borne spores into Ontario from the U.S. Soybean rust can cause detrimental yield loss. Fortunately, soybean plants in Ontario have either been harvested or are too mature for the disease to have an effect on the 2007 crop.
Albert Tenuta, Field Crop Plant Pathologist with OMAFRA reported that this was the first time soybean rust has infected Canadian soybeans and it was too late in the growing year for the disease to affect soybean yields. Researchers cannot predict how the disease will act in Canada’s climate, but do not expect this disease to over winter in Ontario.
Soybean rust, just like other rust pathogens requires a living host to survive, reproduce and over-winter. It is unlikely that a winter host exists in Ontario or the northern U.S. since potential hosts lack green tissue during the winter months. With the current detection of rust in Ontario and those in northern Iowa, we may be seeing a pattern establishing which would see more frequent movement of Asian soybean rust into the northern soybean production areas of North America in the future.
The risk of an outbreak during the next growing season will depend on wind patterns and the spread of airborne rust spores into the province.
The disease, common throughout Asia and South America, was discovered in fall 2004 in the U.S. The fungus is not harmful to humans or animals, but it can have a crippling effect on soybean plants and yields. Symptoms include small lesions on the lower leaves of the infected plant that increase in size and change from grey to tan or reddish brown on the undersides of the leaves. Soybean rust can be managed with early detection and the use of fungicides.
The Ontario Soybean Rust Coalition is a group of key industry players – including government, growers, researchers, and chemical companies – committed to monitoring and minimizing the effects of soybean rust in Ontario.
COMING EVENTS:
Nov. 30 Western Region Symposium and Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario Annual General Meeting, Gencor Building [site of Organic Meadow offices], Highway 6 North of Guelph. Speakers will include Wally Seccombe, Janet Duncan on rare breeds and slow food and will also include a renewable energy panel. For further details contact, EFAO, 5420 Highway 6 North, Guelph, Ontario, info@efao.ca.
Nov. 30 Wellington County Soil & Crop Improvement Association Annual Meeting will be held at Wellington Place beginning at 9:00 a.m. Cost is $25 and pre-registration is required by calling Linda McFadden at 519-846-5215 or email linda.mcfadden@sympatico.ca.
Dec. 4 & 5 Forage Focus Conference in Napanee and Shakespeare respectively. Keynote speaker: Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin, also featuring OMAFRA’s Mike Cowbrough. Register by Nov. 30th, by calling 1-877-892-8663, cost: $35. Check the website: http//www.ontarioforagecouncil.com/.
Dec.13 15th Annual Farmers’ Santa Claus Parade of Lights through the streets of Rockwood at 7:00 p.m. Everyone welcome!
