Farm & Food Care Annual Meeting
 April 17, 2012 - St. George's Banquet Hall, Waterloo
  

 Winners have been selected from more than 1,600 entries in Farm & Food Care Ontario's sixth Farm Creativity Contest, co-sponsored by Farmers Feed Cities, Ontario Agri Food Education and the Canadian National Exhibition.

The number of entries has continued to increase at a dramatic level annually since the contest was launched with 12 entries in 2006. 

The contest is open annually to children between the grades of junior kindergarten and grade eight. Entrants must draw a picture and write about what they learned about farming after visiting an agriculture awareness or education event in Ontario.  Winners receive digital cameras or magazine subscriptions as prizes.

In the junior kindergarten to grade two category,y Ben Little of Alma placed first, followed by Matilda Wojciechowski of Lynden and Dylan Walseth of Unionville.
 

In the grade three to five category, Abhi Ardeshana of Toronto was selected as the winner, followed by Maribel Jraige of Leamington and Madison White of Hagersville.

In the grade six to eight category, Darian Watson placed first, followed by Theresa Kluke and Cassidy Prince.  All three are students from St. John Bosco School in Barry's Bay.

In addition to the individual entries, teachers were also encouraged to submit class sets of postcards to be entered into a draw to win $500 to spend in their classroom.   Cheryl Agoston's grade 4 class from Gracedale Public School in North York was chosen as the winner.  Her class had visited the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

Entries are now being accepted for the 2012 Farm Creativity Contest. 

The nine winning entries can also be seen at http://www.farmfoodcare.org/images/creativitycontestentries.pdf .  

New YouTube Channel

The collection of videos ranges from interviews with farmers to clips explaining daily routines on the farm including biosecurity measures, food safety initiatives, animal care (hoof trimming, ear tagging and vaccination demonstrations) as well as how farmers determine nutrition programs for their livestock. The clips also feature farms and farmers from a variety of farming types - from commonly raised crops and livestock to more unusual commodities like ostrich and elk.   

www.virtualfarmtours.ca project that now houses on-line tours of 23 Ontario farms.
 
The YouTube channel  also showcases entries from the inaugural Farm Flicks contest,  profiles on the Faces of Farming calendars, the popular Know Farmers Know Food video and more. 

All videos are available at www.youtube.com/user/FarmandFoodCare.

This collection is now one of the most comprehensive resources for people looking for videos on Ontario food and farming.  The YouTube channel was designed by Bruce Sargent of Farm Boy Productions in Guelph. 

News from the Canadian Farm Animal Councils
 

National Farm Animal Care Council 

•  Eight Codes of Practice for the care and handling of farm animals are being updated and in various stages of development, including beef cattle, pigs, mink, fox, equine, sheep, poultry (meat) and poultry (layers). National commodity associations take the lead in initiating the update of their industry's Code and follow NFACC's Code development process. Visit www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practicefor details and a timeline outlining steps and progress to date. The credibility of Codes is also tied to implementation.
• NFACC is facilitating multi-party discussions on an Animal Care Assessment Model (ACAM). The ACAM will establish a nationally coordinated and credible process for groups to follow when developing an animal care assessment program. The Dairy Farmers of Canada are facilitating the finalization of the ACAM by test piloting the Model. For more details visit www.nfacc.ca/animal-care-assessment-model.
• NFACC Information Updates are circulated electronically on a quarterly basis and available from www.nfacc.ca. To be added to our distribution list email mikki@nfacc.ca. 

BC Farm Animal Care Council
 

In 2012, BCFACC will be working on:

• Working with a local stock yard and a livestock behaviour expert, the BCFACC will develop a Livestock Behaviour & Handling Training Video for Auction Yard Staff. This video will highlight best handling, un-loading and loading practices, as well as how to identify 'problems' with animals when they arrive at an auction yard. This video will be supplemented with an educational pamphlet.
• BCFACC, in partnership with provincial farm animal groups, will develop BC Ferries Best Practices for Care and Handling of Livestock and Poultry educational materials to be distributed to all levels of BC Ferries employees. These materials will ensure proper understanding of the fragile nature of animals being transported on our waters and to assist in recognizing the pressing nature of timely loading and un-loading of transport vehicles carrying livestock and poultry.
   
• Effective response to a livestock incident in BC would be enhanced by having strategically placed emergency response trailers equipped with the correct equipment/supplies to effectively secure a scene and safely rescue livestock, while ensuring public safety. In 2012, we will conduct a study to determine what would be required to establish emergency response trailers in strategic transport/farming regions throughout BC.

Alberta Farm Animal Care  

• The 2012 Livestock Care Conference will be held on March 21 & 22 at the Holiday Inn on 67th Street in Red Deer, Alberta.  This year's meeting promises to be a thought-provoking discussion of local, national and international issues that affect everyone connected to animal agriculture.  Visit www.afac.ab.ca/lcc for more information.
• A funding proposal to support the development of a livestock handling trailer program is under review by Growing Forward. This project aims to: 1) develop a program to effectively manage a system of livestock handling trailers in various sites across Alberta and 2) create a training program to ensure the people deployed to situations where the trailers are used are aware of the best practices and the requirements for using the trailers.
• The Canadian Agriculture Adaptation Program and many stakeholders in the livestock industry are supporting the creation of a Canadian Livestock Transport (CLT) program. In late 2011, Geraldine Auston was hired as Project Coordinator. A national Cattle Module is in the final stages of review by industry and transportation stakeholders and a study of online course delivery has been initiated. To date over 1750 livestock transporters and handlers have taken the CLT course.  For more information visit: www.livestocktransport.ca.  

Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan 

• As the provincial producer-driven non-profit organization advancing responsible animal care, the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan (FACS) educates both consumers and those working in the agriculture industry. As we enter our 21st year, we continue to see our multi-commodity collaborative approach to animal welfare remain strong. 
• Commodity groups are already signing up to sponsor FACS' 2012 'We Care' billboard campaign. The billboards introduce people travelling throughout the province to producers dedicated to responsible animal care 24/7. Since the 'We Care' campaign was launched in 1996, the collaborative effort has become the largest CBS Outdoor multi-commodity campaign in Canada.
• FACS is in the process of updating the Livestock Resource Kit, which will be available to RCMP officers and the training depot.  The information covers such topics as handling of frightened and injured livestock, and humane euthanasia of animals by firearm. 
• This year's Stock Person's School, a collaborative effort of the FACS and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, focuses on bull health and management.  Several informative speakers will share their knowledge May 2, in Saskatoon.