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| Island growers have deals |
| Source: PEIcanada.com |
| Date: 16-May-2013 |
| Island growers who supply the region’s two main potato processors have finally achieved a settlement - just in time for planting to go into full swing.
Negotiations with Cavendish Farms and McCain Food both went to mediation after the March deadline for reaching a deal was reached. When the mediator was still not able to bring the two sides together, the matter went to arbitration.
That dec... (read more on PEIcanada.com) |
| Greenhouse business faces change |
| Source: Truro Daily News |
| Date: 14-May-2013 |
| This season could mark the end of an era for Steve and Brooke Searle, both of whom are 65.
it has been 40 years since the couple opened Searle’s Greenhouses in Middle Stewiacke, NS.
“We are coming to a decision time as we want to have a few years to relax and enjoy ourselves,” said Steve, who is originally from Truro.
“We plan to wrap up the business at summer’s end,” he said. “It is sti... (read more on Truro Daily News) |
| Apps for all seasons |
| Source: CBC.ca |
| Date: 09-May-2013 |
| If a farmer wants to check out how well a fall-planted crop is coming out of dormancy, where does he turn?
To his phone.
Using new smartphone apps, farmers can mark GPS points, creating a quick and easily accessible record of places in the field that might be prime spots for soil or insect problems as the wheat grows over the next few months.
"Before too long, a smartphone is going ... (read more on CBC.ca) |
| Pollination matchmaker |
| Source: CBC.ca |
| Date: 07-May-2013 |
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A new online matchmaking service, called the Bee Line, is helping farmers by organizing introductions between blueberry growers and beekeepers in Nova Scotia.
The webssite is providing a place for local beekeepers to offer up any excess hives they have to rent.
The details that the growers and the beekeepers work out after the initial introduction is between them.
................... (read more on CBC.ca) |
| Plant defense |
| Source: Mother Earth News |
| Date: 03-May-2013 |
| it may be time to reconsider how we think about plants: research is showing that they can actually hear, touch, see, and even communicate in order to survive.
Tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, and other members of the plant family are lively and highly reactive to their environments - and, in a variety of ways, they communicate with the world around them.
Plants “forage” for resources such as lig... (read more on Mother Earth News) |
| Mason apples enters new era |
| Source: atlanticfarmfocus.ca |
| Date: 01-May-2013 |
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The prospective new owner of Mason apples is optimistic about his bid for purchase.
Roy Haley, of Garlands Crossing, NS, submitted a $1.8 million bid for J.W. Mason and Sons Ltd.’s warehouses, offices, and orchards in Three Mile Plains.
The application to purchase was reviewed in Nova Scotia Supreme Court April 11, and Haley expects it will be approved within the next week or two.
The... (read more on atlanticfarmfocus.ca) |
| Pulse growers focus on domestic market |
| Source: AgriSuccessExpress |
| Date: 30-Apr-2013 |
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Canada exports more peas, beans, lentils, and chick peas (pulses) than any other country. The crops are going primarily to South Asian countries, China, Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa.
However there is significant potential for increased consumption within North America, as well as in Europe, which growers are targeting by reaching out to major food manufacturers and food se... (read more on AgriSuccessExpress) |
| Pollinator protection BMP |
| Source: AtlanticFarmer.com, submitted, by Health Canada |
| Date: 30-Apr-2013 |
| On behalf of Health Canada (HC), you are invited to take a look at the most recent update to the best management practices regarding pollinator protection and the responsible use of treated seed. With the seeding season upon us, HC thought this subject matter could be of interest to our readers.
In 2012, HC received an unusually high number of bee incident reports from Canadian beekeepers that... (read more) |
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| EU to ban bee-killer |
| Source: BBC News |
| Date: 29-Apr-2013 |
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In response to great concern across Europe about the collapse of bee populations, the European Commission has decided to restrict the use of certain pesticides linked to bee deaths.
Neonicotinoid pesticides have been linked to bee die-offs by researchers, though some farmers and crop experts are protesting the decision, and argue that there is insufficient data to support such an action.
... (read more on BBC News) |
| Buy local... if you can |
| Source: TheChronicleHerald.ca |
| Date: 29-Apr-2013 |
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Acadian Seaplants offers "Hana Tsunomata" in pink and yellow. Never heard of it, even though it’s a locally-grown Nova Scotia product?
“We call it sea vegetables but, technically, it’s still seaweed. When you’re trying to market it, it’s much better to call it a sea vegetable than a sea weed,” says Robert Sperdakes of Acadian Seaplants about Hana Tsunomata.
And you may not hav... (read more on TheChronicleHerald.ca) |
| Speerville Mill loses major customer |
| Source: CBC.ca |
| Date: 26-Apr-2013 |
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Sobeys stores are marking down the remaining Speerville Mill products on their shelves, and won't be bringing in any more.
Cynthia Thompson, speaking on behalf of Sobeys, said that Speerville was seeking price increases that averaged about 20 per cent on its products, including quinoa, oatmeal, millet, and black chia grains.
Sobeys has found other suppliers to provide similar product... (read more on CBC.ca) |
| What happened to my veggies? |
| Source: MotherJones.com |
| Date: 25-Apr-2013 |
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Eating your vegetables was a lot better for you a few decades ago.
The veggies may not have been as uniform and pretty back then, but they were packed with a lot more nutrients than their modern counterparts.
The likely culprit behind the nutritional drop?
The new hybrid crops are often bred for larger sizes and specific colors, at the cost of their nutrients.
Click through this sl... (read more on MotherJones.com) |
| Franken-apple |
| Source: OrganicConsumers.org |
| Date: 23-Apr-2013 |
| The new GMO Arctic® Apple is facing approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and could soon start appearing in fast food meals and cafeterias. The big selling feature of these GMO apples is that they won’t turn brown when they’re sliced or bitten into.
These shiny new high-tech apples will likely be cheap - priced considerably lower than an organic, pesticide-free, nutrient-den... (read more on OrganicConsumers.org) |
| Eat it up |
| Source: gizmag.com |
| Date: 23-Apr-2013 |
| A new process has been developed that could allow any plant to serve as a food source.
The process allows cellulose (the most common carbohydrate on Earth) to be converted into a starch known as amylose.
Cellulose is found in the cell walls of plants. Starch makes up about 20 to 40 percent of the daily caloric intake in the typical human diet.
Amylose is a good source of fiber, as it is... (read more on gizmag.com) |
| Farming for the future |
| Source: AtlanticFarmer.com |
| Date: 22-Apr-2013 |
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The province of Nova Scotia has announced that it is supporting innovation and research at the Dalhousie agricultural campus in Truro, which will grow healthier plants, the economy, and the future of farming.
"The province is helping people get ready for good jobs around the corner," ministerial assistant Lenore Zann, on behalf of Economic and Rural Development Minister Percy Paris,... (read more) |
| Protecting pollinators |
| Source: Island Farmer |
| Date: 22-Apr-2013 |
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Health Canada has published a series of best practices aimed at reducing the risk to pollinators, particularly honeybees, from exposure to dust from treated seed.
Many farmers, including those who grow corn, use seed that has been treated with insecticides to protect their crop from insect pests. These insecticides, including nitro-guanidine neonicotinoids, may be toxic to pollinators.
To... (read more on Island Farmer) |
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