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: 8:30 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
GROWING YOUR FARM PROFITS
by John C. Benham
Workshop leader Liz Samis has just completed another very successful Growing Your Farm Profits workshop with good attendance and good participation. Several enthusiastic comments were heard.
The next Growing Your Farm Profits workshop will be held June 5 and 12 in the Elora OMAFRA meeting room. Attendance at both sessions is required. Sessions run from 9:30am to 3pm. No costs to you. Lunch and refreshments provided.
The workshops are presented in a format similar to the Environmental Farm Plan workshop. The two-day workshop will put you in a position to access the cost share funding, which will help you and your farm business meet the business goals that you will determine, as you go through the workshop and complete the book.
This workshop will help you decide on the priorities that you will want to put in place in your farm business plan. You are not required to provide any confidential information about your farm business in the workshop.
Several farmers have already signed up. To register call Liz at 519-638-3268 or online at: www.ontariosoilcrop.org/workshop. You will be glad you did!
FACT SHEETS and PUBLICATIONS
The following new publications are available for free:
– Publication 60 – 2012 Field Crop Budgets, Free. Publication 820 – Field Pocket Guide, (recently reprinted); and
– 11-049: Hydrogen Sulphide in Agricultural Biogas Systems, Agdex 769; New;
– 11-053: Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), Agdex 837; replaces 10-017;
– 11-055: The Cost of Raising Replacement Dairy Heifers, Agdex 412; replaces 09-063; and
– 11-047: Pear Production in Ontario, Agdex 215.
The following fact sheets will be offered on the web only:
– 12-001W: Listeriosis in Chinchillas, Agdex 664; replaces 89-066;
– 12-003W: Options for Farmers Dealing with Financial Difficulties, Agdex 817; replaces 10-003;
– 12-005W: Farrowing Room Sanitation, Agdex 441/10; New; and
– 11-051W: Planning Dairy Operation Feeding Systems for Expansion, Agdex 410/60, New.
The 2012 Field Crop Budgets are now available online. These handy management tools help to estimate costs and evaluate cropping alternatives. Check the website for these field crops: hay, barley, canola, beans, corn, oats, flax, soybeans, wheat, plus organic crops. A new feature is some comparison tables of selected crops to help you compare – www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/facts/pub60.pdf.
The following new publications are available at prices noted:
– Publication 75 – Guide to Weed Control, 2012-2013 (over 400 pages). Cost is $15;
– Vegetable Crop Protection Guide 2012-2013, Publication 838; cost is $15. This new biennial contains pesticide products that have been registered as of Sept. 26, 2011, on vegetable crops. (NOTE: This publication is a companion to Publication 839, Ontario Field Vegetable Guide, which will be released in the winter/spring of 2013. Pub. 839 will contain more comprehensive information on pest management strategies, diseases and other information related to the production of field vegetables in Ontario. OMAFRA Publication 363, Vegetable Production Recommendations, will remain available to growers, at a reduced price, providing vegetable production information, until Pub. 839 is available); and
– 2012 SUPPLEMENT, Field Crop Protection Guide, Publication 812S, February 2012; this free supplement will accompany all paid book orders for OMAFRA Publication 812 and can also be ordered separately.
To order OMAFRA publications and fact sheets visit any OMAFRA Resource Centre or ServiceOntario location or visit the ServiceOntario website at: www.serviceontario.ca/publications.
THE STRAW SPECIALIST?
by Peter Johnson, Cereal Specialist, OMAFRA
Straw has become a huge commodity in the cereal industry. Every year, the questions come around, “Should I sell my straw? What is it worth?” Straw has such a local market component that everyone’s price differs. What has happened to make straw such a valuable and sought after commodity?
The Past – Ratchet back the clock. Let’s go back to OMAFRA in 1985. There was 590,000 acres of mixed grain, 520,000 acres of barley, 280,000 acres of oat, and 30,000 acres of spring wheat, for a total of 1,420,000 acres of spring cereals. Those acreages were already in a downtrend, 200,000 acres less than 1981. There were 505,000 acres of winter wheat. All together, there was almost 2 million acres of straw throughout the 1980s.
Present – Compare that to 2011 when there was a whopping 335,000 acres of spring cereals (90,000 mixed grain, 110,000 barley, 55,000 oat, 80,000 spring wheat). Ouch! Can it get any lower? Winter wheat experienced the second largest crop on record, at 1,095,000 acres. Total straw available was 1,330,000 acres.
Future – What will happen in 2012? There won’t be a big increase in spring cereal acres with corn at $5 per bushel. Winter wheat acres are around 700,000. Add those together for a total of about 1,000,000 acres. This is half of what we had in the 1980s. Is it any wonder that straw is in demand?
Other Factors – Dairy farms are feeding more straw, as they need dietary fibre. We are exporting more straw to dairy farms on the US eastern seaboard, as their acres of straw have dropped even more dramatically than ours.
If it wasn’t for the fact that Ontario livestock numbers have dropped and less people bed with straw, prices would be through the roof. It looks like straw prices will continue to be strong, as available supply is small. What is it worth? Lots
COMING EVENTS
April 16: A Taste of Woolwich at Breslau Mennonite Church, 5 to 8pm. Come see (and taste for free) the best of the Township. Contact: Carol 519-883-2004 ext. 5336 or Barb 519-669-3961.
April 19, 20: London Poultry Show, Western Fair District, London, ON. Complete details online at: http://www.poultryindustrycouncil.ca/events/london.php.
