ISSUE 2014-12 | December, 2014
December 2014 E-newsletter
IN THIS ISSUE
SAVE THE DATE
December 10:
Niagara Farm Innovation Tour
  
January 27 -  Speakers' Bureau presentations skills training session in Guelph. Register by emailing info@farmfoodcare.org
 
January 29 - Speakers' Bureau presentations skills training session in Stratford. Register by emailing info@farmfoodcare.org 

April 14-15, 2015 - Farm & Food Care Annual General Meeting, Teatro Conference and Event Centre, Milton

 

October 29, 2015 - Ontario Harvest Gala, Bingeman Park 
FIND US ONLINE
For members:
www.farmfoodcare.org

For consumers:

www.RealDirtonFarming.ca

www.facesoffarming.ca

www.loveONTfood.ca


Photo Library:
  
NEW ON OUR WEBSITE
Farm Environmental E-News December 2014
Ag Ambassador Tip
of the Month
Always be courteous. Remember, even if an opinion is based on incorrect information, the opinion itself is not wrong. Rather than tell people they are wrong, instead offer to help them find more resources and answers to their questions. Even if their opinion remains unchanged, at least they will have a positive image of someone in agriculture.
Industry News
The Rural Ontario Institute is accepting applicants for Class 16 of the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP). 

Participants will attend eight two or three day seminars around the province, as well as two study tours - one within North America and the other to an international destination. Class members will also participate in a group project and several online learning opportunities.

Interested individuals can go to the program's website to learn more and apply. A maximum of 30 people will be accepted.

Completed applications are due before March 20, 2015. AALP Class 16 starts in September
2015 and runs through to April 2017.
Hot of the presses: The 2014 Real Dirt On Farming 

The Farm & Food Care Foundation is proud to present the 2014 edition of The Real Dirt on Farming booklet. 
  

Last published in 2006 and 2010, The Real Dirt on Farming answers Canadians' questions about food and farming, and tackles hot topics -like pesticides, antibiotics, hormones and GMOs - head on.

For the first time, the 52-page booklet is now a national initiative with a distribution target of one million copies, and has support from agricultural organizations from coast to coast.  

  

Extra Resources

Also for the first time, "The Real Dirt on Farming" goes beyond just a print publication and now includes a whole suite of resources and activities:

1) The Real Dirt on Farming website
The newly launched "Real Dirt on Farming" website, www.realdirtonfarming.ca, provides access to current and past copies of the publication, and other related resources and information.

2) The Digest Version
A shorter digest version is being developed that will be inserted into Canadian newspapers and magazines, such as the Globe and Mail this coming winter.

3) The Real Dirt On Farming Speakers' Bureau
A new series of day-long training workshops provides presentations skills training and resources to farmers and agribusiness people interested in telling their stories to non-farming audiences like school groups, service clubs, municipal council meetings and more. 
 
Participants are provided with professional presentations that they can modify to their own topics and a
Facilitator Bernard Tobin works with a group of farmers in Guelph taking the Speakers' Bureau training.
audiences. Copies of The Real Dirt on Farming booklets will be provided to leave with their audiences. Farm & Food Care has just completed the first four pilot sessions, and will be expanding the program to a national level in the new year.  
 
Two training workshops are planned for January 27 in Guelph and January 29 in Stratford. Register by emailing info@farmfoodcare.org.
 
There is no charge to participate in the day-long sessions.  More sessions will be planned for February and March. Watch the January newsletter for dates and locations.  
  

4) The Real Dirt Twitter Party
Farm & Food Care, Burnbrae Farms, Canada Beef and the Farmers of Canada twitter handle hosted a nation-wide Twitter party to launch the Real Dirt booklet on November 19, connecting consumers directly with Canadian farmers from coast to coast. It was a huge success with almost 500 participants tweeting 1500 tweets with a reach of 1.4 million media impressions in one hour. The success resulted in #RealDirt trending number one on Twitter in Canada during the party.

  

Support the #RealDirt initiative

Funding for the Real Dirt booklet and its associated programs has been contributed by commodity groups and agribusinesses across Canada. Thank you to the project's top sponsors which include:

  • CropLife Canada
  • Canada Beef Inc.
  • Burnbrae Farms
  • Wallenstein Feed and Supply Ltd.
  • Council for Biotechnology Information
  • Floradale Feed Mill Ltd.
  • New-Life Mills
  • Canadian Animal Health Institute
  • Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association
  • Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association
  • Alberta Farm Animal Care
  • PEI Federation of Agriculture
  • Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan

A full sponsor list is available at www.RealDirtonFarming.ca.

 

To continue to support the fundraising efforts for the Dirt on Farming, please visit the Farm & Food Care Foundation's website.

The Foundation has raised $350,000 of its $500,000 target for year one of the Dirt on Farming project. Additional funds will help to ensure that the booklet can be distributed even further.  

 

To order copies of your own to distribute, visit http://www.realdirtonfarming.ca/order.php. 

Farm & Food Care receives CAMA award in Community Relations category
For work on a Local Food Week campaign in June of 2014 with Foodland Ontario, Farm & Food Care has won the Community Relations award from the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association.

The Farm & Food Care and Foodland Ontario teams celebrate their award. They include: Back row, from left, Kelly Ward, Kim Waalderbos, Craig Steven. Middle row: Jeff O'Donnell, Toni Peet, Pat Grotenhuis and Kelly Daynard. Front row: Matt McIntosh, Denise Zaborowski and Sue McLarty.
The award, which recognizes the effectiveness of the organization's public outreach campaign between June 2 and 8, was presented to Farm & Food Care representatives at the Association's annual Best of CAMA event in Ottawa last month. 

A full list of the Association's 2014 award-winners can be found here.
Statement on Bee Health - December 1, 2014

  

Below is a statement issued today by Farm & Food Care as the latest in the organization's efforts to communicate about bee health.  While it's important to note that Farm & Food Care does not have a lobby function, the association is set up to be a "helpful expert", working to provide credible information on food and farming.  

 

A good example of our work on this topic this year includes profiling pollinator health on two tours for 125 media and culinary professionals.  Both tours (out of Toronto and Ottawa) visited grain farms and featured bee health discussions for the attendees  in that important target audience.  Attendees received Farm & Food Care's bee health factsheet (linked here) and heard directly from farmers and speakers from Grain Farmer of Ontario on this topic.

 

Bee Health Statement 

 

By Les Nichols -Farm & Food Care Environmental Council Chairman

 

Ontario farmers are very concerned about bee health.  We rely on bees as important pollinators of our crops - bees are of vital importance to all segments of agriculture and food.   

 

Bee health, and specifically the possible impacts of neonicotinoid pesticides as a factor in pollinator health, is a very complex issue that is being reviewed and examined by experts around the world.   

 

Farm & Food Care has long supported the creation of the Bee Health Working Group in Ontario, and the work of the Pest Management Regulation Agency (PMRA) as it examines and researches the concerns regarding bee health.  These are just two of many initiatives related to bees that are trying to determine what is actually happening and why.   

 

Farm & Food Care applauds the work that many farmers and agri-food industry stakeholders have already invested into research and adopting new handling practices such as reducing the possible exposure of bees to dust from neonicotinoid treated seed. It is imperative to the viability of Ontario's farmers who grow crops and associated businesses that any possible decisions to restrict the use of neonicotinoids be based on sound science and credible research. The goal of reducing honey bee deaths is one all farmers can support.     

 

Ontario farmers are the original environmental stewards of the land.  We live and work on our farms and take ecosystem and bee health very seriously. Farm & Food Care encourages anyone that shares farmer concerns about pollinator health to support sound science and research. Understanding to what extent environmental issues impact bee health is important, not only for bees but for the benefit of all ecosystems surrounding agricultural lands. 

 

Farm & Food Care encourages anyone that shares farmer concerns about pollinator health to allow the researchers and experts some more time to continue to investigate this important issue.   Let's allow them to establish benchmarks and recommendations for changes and actions based on science and data collected here at home in Canada.

Farm Innovation Tour: Niagara

On December 10, Farm & Food Care is heading to the Niagara region for another farm innovation tour -a hands on series profiling farm innovations in animal welfare and the environment. 

 

This time, the tour is making three separate stops:
1) MapleCrest Farms (Grassie)
2) Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) 
3) Spring Valley Gardens (St. Catharines)

To reserve a spot and find more information about the tour, visit the Farm & Food Care website. 

 
Join your fellow government and agri-business leaders for this unique day of learning, networking and discussion. 
2014 Year in Review - Farm Animal Care and Environmental Initiatives

Farm & Food Care's Farm Animal Care and Environmental staff teams have prepared Year in Review summaries on their projects and initiatives over 2014.

 

You can find them at the following links:

 

Farm Animal Care Year in Review

 

Environmental Projects Year in Review

Newsletter Information
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
© Farm Food Care Ontario
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