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 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
GARLIC MUSTARD
John C. Benham, Weed Inspector, Wellington County
Garlic Mustard is becoming very invasive. In fact if you have one plant going to seed this year, you will have a patch next year. From then on you will have difficulty keeping up to it. It is a kind of mustard so seeds in the ground will likely be viable for many years.
It is an annual but sometimes biennial reproducing only by seed. It grows about 3 feet tall with small, white four-petal flowers in May and June. In the spring you may notice a rosette of kidney shaped leaves that are rounded but soon it bolts into a plant with narrow pointed leaves and a typical mustard appearance. One of the distinguishing features of this plant is the garlic odour of the leaves when crushed or chewed.
It is of special concern in forests and tree plantations. When established it forms such a dense cover that the desirable tree seedlings and forest plants such as trillium, are smothered out. Although it is not on the Noxious Weed list, this is another one of the invasive plants that must be controlled as individuals, before they become a problem. If it is a small patch, pulling maybe the best solution for this year but there will be many seeds in the ground waiting for future opportunities. Don’t let it go to seed!!
PERFORMANCE HORSE HANDLER CERTIFICATE COURSE
The University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus will be offering a one-year, full time certificate program at REACH, Regional Equine & Agricultural Centre of Huron, in Clinton. This program will commence again in Sept. 2011.
Do you have a love for horses? Are you interested in the horse racing industry? Do you want to learn about working with competition horses? The Performance Horse Handler Certificate is designed to provide graduates with the technical knowledge and skills to be a well qualified employee in the equine industry. This one year certificate will prepare students to work in thoroughbred, quarter horse or standard bred racing, dressage, show jumping, reining, breeding and other stables, and places of competition where experienced horse handling is required. Students will be exposed to the preparation of horses for racing or competition, learn the principles of horse behaviour and safe horse handling, and carry out duties including handling, feeding, grooming and caring for performance horses in a controlled environment as well as in the field.
For more information, visit www.ridgetownc.uoguelph.ca
COMING EVENTS:
May 28 – Wellington Spring Romp – a tour of local farms selling direct to public. Experience a day in the countryside, meet local producers, enjoy learning about local agriculture, explore culinary delights, guided tours and children’s activities along the Romp. There are over a dozen locations with special programming throughout the region. For information, check the website: www.guelphwellingtonlocalfood.ca.
May 31- Wellington County Farm Safety – regular meeting held at Husky Farm Equipment, Alma at 8:00 p.m. sharp. For more information, call Walter Grose at 519-846-5329.
June 2 – Waterloo Federation of Agriculture, monthly Board meeting at the St. Agatha Community Center. For information contact secretary, Richard Cressman at 519-662-2790, or email: rcresman@sentex.net.
June 2 – Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA) 7th Annual Ontario Provincial Conference – Quality Inn & Suites, Woodstock. For more information, phone 1-877-474-2871.
June 7 – Wellington Federation of Agriculture monthly board meeting, at OMAFRA Boardroom, 6484 Cty. Rd. #7, Elora. For information contact secretary, Lisa Hern at 519-848-3774, or email: jplh@golden.net.
June 7 & 8 – Climate Change and the Implications for Plant Science – Symposium. Place – Room 160, Johnson Hall, University of Guelph, Guelph. Contact: 519-767-5000 or Email – info@open.uoguelph.ca; Website – www.plantscience.open.uoguelph.ca; or Alt. Website – www.croplife.ca.
June 7 & 14 – Waterloo County Growing Your Farm Profits Workshop (2 days) will be held in Linwood from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. To register or more information, call Liz Samis at 519-638-3268 or lsamis@ontariosoilcrop.org.
June 17 & 24 – Wellington County Growing Your Farm Profits two-day Workshop will be held in the Elora OMAFRA meeting room at 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch/refreshments are provided. To sign up, call John at 519-846-3394.
June 21-22 – 38th Annual Ontario Pork Congress. Place – Stratford Agricultural and Recreational Complex. Website – http://www.porkcongress.on.ca/
July 6 & 7 – SouthWest Crop Diagnostic Days – University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus.
July 13 Ontario Forage Expo, Elora Research Station. Watch for details at http://www.ontarioforagecouncil.com/.
July 14 Farm$mart Expo, Elora Research Station. Details will be available at http://www.uoguelph.ca/farmsmart/index.html.
July 15 FarmSmart Expo 4H/Youth Day at the Elora Research Station. Check website for details http://www.uoguelph.ca/farmsmart/index.html.
Aug. 24 Herb Demonstration Day – OMAFRA Simcoe Research Station, Simcoe.
