IN THIS ISSUE

Shinny Shin Dig - May 8
University of Guelph arena
 

June 12 - London

August 28 - Holland Marsh

 Breakfast on the Farm - August 2
Stanlee Farms Inc. Avonmore, ON

Ontario's Harvest Gala - October 30
Bingeman Park, Kitchener

FIND US ONLINE

Corporate website:
www.farmfoodcare.org

For consumers:
www.facesoffarming.ca

Our blogs:
www.letstalkfarmanimals.ca
www.caringfortheland.com

Our foundation:
www.farmcarefoundation.ca

Online farm tours:
www.virtualfarmtours.ca

   

If you missed Farm & Food Care's Annual General Meeting on April 15 and 16, check out this short video. It gives some of the highlights of our activities and priorities from 2013:

  

  

 

New-Life Mills pledges $75,000 to Farm & Food Care Foundation

Bill Revington (left) and Nadine Schwandt (right) present a cheque on behalf of New Life Mills to Bruce Christie, chair of the Farm & Food Care Foundation.

 

Terry Daynard receives Champion Award

Bruce Christie (left) presents the Farm & Food Care Champion award to Terry Daynard

Terry Daynard of Guelph has been named the 2014 recipient of the Farm & Food Care Champion Award.

 

The award was presented at Farm & Food Care's annual meeting on April 16 by Bruce Christie, a Farm & Food Care board member. Daynard was nominated for the award by Ontario Agri-Food Technologies (OAFT).

 

Daynard has dedicated his entire career to working in Ontario agriculture since graduating from the University of Guelph almost 50 years ago. He is both a former professor and Assistant Dean of the Ontario Agricultural College, former Executive Director of the Ontario Corn Producers' Association and farms with his wife outside of Guelph.

 

In writing the nomination, Gord Surgeoner of OAFT described Daynard as a champion of agriculture, explaining that "Terry not only defends issues but thinks ahead." Surgeoner mentioned that Daynard was instrumental in developing the Ontario Environmental Farm Plan and wrote the forward thinking document "Our Farm Environmental Agenda" which Surgeoner described as a "timeless" document.

Read More

Breakfast on the Farm planned for Stanlee Farms - Avonmore, Ontario

The Wert family

Join Ontario farmers for Breakfast on the Farm on August 2, 2014 from 9 am - 1 pm, at Stanlee Farms in Avonmore, Ontario (between Cornwall and Ottawa). 

Stanlee Farm owners, Jim & Nancy Wert, have been selected as this year's hosts on their dairy farm.  Stanlee Farms is celebrating the 150th year of the farm being in the same family with Jim & Nancy's sons being the 5th generation.

The Wert family is looking forward to opening their farm to visitors and families wanting to enjoy a free Ontario breakfast and discover how their food starts on the farm ending up on their table.  It is a unique experience that offers something for all.  Farmers get to connect with the public while area residents have an opportunity to get a close look at a modern farm that produces the food they enjoy. 

The event is free and includes breakfast, farm tours and an explore agriculture area.  Free tickets are required for the breakfast and will be available online at www.farmfoodcare.org. 

We are looking for volunteers to help make the event a success -  from parking cars and serving breakfast to tour guides of the barn area.  Volunteering for Breakfast on the Farm is a rewarding experience and a chance to show your pride in the work that you do in agriculture. 

For more information contact: sue@farmfoodcare.org.

Farm Innovations Tours planned across province

Heather Copland of Grober Veal in Cambridge, Ontario explains their farm's innovative and industry-leading animal welfare and environmental practices.

The first of six Farm Innovation tours planned for 2014 and coordinated by Farm & Food Care was held on April
3. The tours are designed to showcase advancements in animal welfare and farm environmental initiatives and the first was attended by more than 30 guests including staff from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ontario Ministry of Environment, agribusinesses and more.

Participants first learned about animal welfare practices at Grober Nutrition's veal farm in Cambridge. They were also shown how an anaerobic digester at the site creates enough power for 500 homes locally. A lunch was held at the Grand River Conservation Authority, featuring a talk on how Best Management Practices have improved in the Grand River Watershed and how they will continue to evolve to meet the needs of the watershed's inhabitants. The final stop of the tour was at Nuhn Industries in Sebringville where visitors saw the company's revolutionary manure tankers, spreaders and agitators.

A remote controlled manure lagoon agitator outside of Nuhn Industries in Serbringville, Ontario.

  

Upcoming tours will be held across Ontario including June 12 in the London area, August 28 in the Holland Marsh area and a September 2014 tour featuring aquaculture and cranberries near Parry Sound, departing from Guelph. The cost for the tours is $40 per person, and includes a full day's program, transportation and lunch.  The cost for the overnight Parry Sound tour has not yet been determined. The tours are free to OMAF staff. For information about future tours, visit this link. 

Farm Animal Care Newsletter

In this issue:

• Farm Animal Care Code of Conduct
• Highlights from 2014 AGM and Conference
• FFC attends Ontario Bar Association session on animal law
• OMAF Animal Care Conference

  

Farm Environmental Newsletter

 In this issue:  

• Water Adaptation Management and Quality Initiative (WAMQI)
• CoCoRaHS program (see below)
• Highlights from 2014 AGM and Conference
• Farm Innovation Tours
• Bee Health
• The 4 Rs of fertilizer application

  

Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network now in Ontario

CoCoRaHs weather gauge

Are you a weather enthusiast? Do you keep regular rainfall records? There is a new weather network for you.

The Farm & Food Care Foundation is pleased to announce its Canada-wide involvement with the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) and the official Ontario launch of the program.  The Ontario program is supported by the Ontario ministries of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Food, Rural Affairs and Environment in the amount of $65,000 over two years. CoCoRaHS consists of a network of volunteer observers who upload daily precipitation information to the program website, www.cocorahs.org/canada.aspx

Along with training, CoCoRaHS observers use a monitoring kit which includes an official CoCoRaHS rain gauge and snow measuring equipment.  Each day, when volunteers input their observations online, the data is immediately available publically through an interactive web map.

Scenes from the 2014 Annual General Meeting

Some of the participants in the Dinner Starts Here farm blogger initiative give an update on their work. They include (from left) Andrew Campbell, Jacob Pelissero, Matt Underwood, Justin Williams, Sarah Brien and Erin McLean.	Participants on a panel on sustainability include (from left) Nick Betts of Grain Farmers of Ontario, Cher Mereweather of the Provision Coalition, Karen Tracey of the Northern Ontario Aquaculture Association and Heather Mak of the Retail Council of Canada.

Dr. Becky Tilley, a veterinarian with Butterball in North Carolina spoke about the company's experiences after the activist group Mercy for Animals released an undercover video showing animal abuses at a company turkey breeding farm.	Dr. Joe Schwarcz (left) Director of McGill University's Office for Science & Society and Dr. Dominique Bureau, an animal nutritionist and aquaculture scientist with the University of Guelph's Department of Animal and Poultry Science led a communications workshop for 140 participants on April 15  called "Talking Tough Topics".

If you've misplaced a copy of the newsletter or want to check an item from a past issue, they're all archived on our website under the Media Centre section.

We encourage you to forward this newsletter to other members of your company or organization who might be interested. They can also subscribe directly by emailing info@farmfoodcare.org.

100 Stone Road West, Suite 106
Guelph, ON
N1G 5L3
519-837-1326
www.farmfoodcare.org
Twitter: @farmfoodcare
Email: info@farmfoodcare.org