Buy & Sell - add your items for FREE.... Holstein & Hanovarian horses; St. Croix sheep; Pasture wanted near Enderby; Yearling Simmental Bulls; NH Forage Harvestor; 45 gallon plastic barrels; NH tractor; fert spreader; cultivator; tip wagon.
How do you stretch & straighten page wire?
Source of non-hybrid yellow dent corn seed?
Using wood pellets as bedding in a horse stall ... comments?
Province Takes Action Against Invasive Plants
B.C. Pesticide Collection program
World must seize chance to boost agriculture - High food prices not just threat but opportunity
29 April 2008, Rome - FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf today called on the international community not only to take immediate action to de-fuse the current world food emergency but also to seize the opportunities offered by higher food prices and prevent similar dramatic situations occurring in the future.
In a statement published on the FAO website, Dr Diouf said, “The time for re-launching agriculture is now and the international community should not miss the opportunity.”
High food commodity prices called for a twin-track approach featuring policies and programmes to assist the millions of poor whose livelihoods were at risk, and steps to help farmers in the developing world take advantage of the new situation.
“We must produce more food where it is urgently needed to contain the impact of soaring prices on poor consumers, and simultaneously boost productivity and expand production to create more income and employment opportunities for the rural poor,” Dr Diouf said.
“We have to ensure that small holder farmers have proper access to land and water resources and essential inputs such as seeds and fertilisers. This will enable them to increase their supply response to higher prices, boosting their incomes, improving their livelihoods, and ultimately benefiting consumers as well,” Dr Diouf said.
Urgent measures required to reduce impact of high food prices on the poor – Urgent measures are needed to ensure that short-term adverse effects of higher food prices do not impact even more alarmingly on the very poor, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said today.
“World food prices have risen 45 percent in the last nine months and there are serious shortages of rice, wheat and maize,” Dr Diouf said.
FAO applauds the opening of seed vault in Norway. A tunnel built into frozen mountain will store samples of the world’s most important crops. The creation of the Global Seed Vault, which will house duplicates of unique varieties of the world’s most important crops, is “one of the most innovative and impressive acts in the service of humanity,” FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said today. “The wealth that is being safeguarded in Svalbard will be the global insurance to address future challenges,” he added.
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The Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. (IAF) welcomes three new directors to its Board. Marcel Cloutier, Irmi Critcher, and Ernie Willis were appointed following the April 15, 2008 annual general meeting. Read more ...
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We would like your assistance in determining the northern extent and range of the Eastern Grey Squirrel on Vancouver Island. If you have seen a grey squirrel north of Duncan or west of Sooke, or want more information about how to help with management of this species, please call 1-250-751-3100 |
Guide To Best Management Practices In British Columbia for Cereals, canola, field corn, field peas, grasses and legumes for forage and seed production. The 2008/09 edition of the Field Crop Protection Guide is now available for B.C. producers. Contact your nearest B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands office to obtain a copy. Contents of the Guide are also available off the BCMAL website in PDF* format. Contents:
This selector will help you find herbicides to control specific weeds in cropping and non-cropping situations. You can begin the selection by choosing a crop, if you know the crop and leaf stage, and then selecting for the weeds you want to control. Click on the results link to display all the products and registered mixes that can be applied to control or suppress weeds for that situation. Alberta Agriculture link.
Producers are responsible for decisions regarding manure spreading. Legislation does not give specific dates for manure spreading, but allows for the use of manure as a fertilizer, and does not allow for manure to be spread in a manner that causes pollution.
2008 Interim Wildlife Damage Compensation Program
The 2008 IWDCP will compensate qualifying B.C. cattle and forage producers whose unharvested forage crop intended for livestock feed has been damaged by wildlife. The 2008 IWDCP will include wildlife damage caused by deer, elk, moose and bear. The IWDCP covers both perennial forage crops and annual forage crops used for livestock feed that is in standing crop. This program augments the "pilot" programs currently operating in specific areas around the province by filling in the regions the pilots are not covering. The pilot programs are continuing to operate for 2008.
If you are a B.C. forage producer expecting damage from deer, elk, moose or bear, plan to build a grazing enclosure so that forage loss can be calculated accurately. Brochures explaining the program and how to build an enclosure will be available soon. Please contact the BC Forage Council if you would like to have the brochures mailed to you: bcforagecouncil@farmwest.com
Native Grass Seed Development - Pacific Coast Native Seed; Northern Seed; Southern Interior Seed --The Pacific Coast native grass development program that was pursued from 1996-2006, ended in March, 2006, with a successful conclusion. Following is a report of the 2007 developments.
Currently the BCFC Board members are looking at where more variety trials and demonstration plots can be of value to the forage producers of the province. There is discussion on mixed grass and legume demonstration plots to show yield, compatibility and hardiness. This makes a lot of sense as many producers have mixed crops. Single variety trials are important because they allow new varieties to be registered in the province, but they don’t show us how well these varieties mix with others and survive.
I am looking forward to meeting more producers and discussing how we can all make the BCFC a more beneficial organization for all forage producers in the province.
Clean Energy Plan and Carbon Tax Create Opportunities for Agroforestry (Agroforestry Update 2008)
Opportunities for Agroforestry in BCThe ability to integrate conservation and production practices in the same system is a fundamental advantage of agroforestry. Now with two major ‘green’ policy developments in BC, agroforestry practices may be well positioned to contribute to carbon reduction strategies while generating economic benefits for individuals, communities and the province as a whole. On January 31st, the BC Government unveiled the details of its bioenergy strategy that is designed to create new opportunities for rural communities, spur investment and innovation, and help the Province reach the goal of becoming electricity self-sufficient by 2016. According to the BIOCAP Canada Foundation, BC already leads the country in energy production from biomass with over 800 MW of installed biomass electricity capacity, which is enough to power 640,000 households. Pulp and paper mills in BC meet Clean Energy Plan and Carbon Tax Create Opportunities for Agroforestry in BC over a third of their electricity needs through on site co-generation of electricity and steam. And, in 2007, the BC wood pellet industry produced over 900,000 tonnes of wood pellets, of which 90 % was exported for power production overseas.
Extreme Viticulture Considerations
The growing of wine grapes in untraditional areas – or what some may call “marginal” – may become more attractive as land prices soar in established regions such as the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. There are feasibility studies already underway in the Thompson and Fraser River valleys and there will surely be more areas that will be investigated. Even in established regions, looking at sites with higher elevations than usual may have potential for quality grape production.
The biogas produced can be converted into electrical energy by internal combustion engines or power turbines. A co-generator can also be used to capture heat energy during this conversion, resulting in up to 90 percent efficiency compared to the 20 to 30 percent efficiency in conventional electricity generators.
Biogas production using anaerobic digesters can take large volumes of agricultural byproducts, such as manure, feed spills, meat and food processing wastes, and crop residues, and convert these into a form of energy similar to natural gas. “If we can make large-scale biogas production a viable option, it could go a long way to helping the agricultural industry address the issue of managing manure and other farm organic waste,” says Navaratnasamy. “It could also help reduce onfarm energy costs and potentially provide a new source of farm income. These and other related environmental benefits make biogas production a strong candidate to play an important role in the future of Alberta’s agricultural industry.”
Worms in Sheep Production
Veterinarian Dr. Peter Stockdale is the author of Living With Worms. He tackles a perennial concern of all sheep farmers. “The diseases of sheep caused by internal parasites have proven difficult to control and to prevent,” said Dr. Stockdale. “For organic farmers, the situation is especially challenging, since treatments with conventional anthelmintics are allowed only when preventive measures fail.”
Dr Stockdale compares the nutrition, grazing behaviour and birth cycle of wild and domestic sheep and recommends organic management methods that aim to mimic the natural conditions and host-parasite relationship found in wild sheep. His research and experience have found that ingesting low numbers of parasites does not cause disease or loss of productivity, but steadily builds up a protective immunity. Living With Worms will be of interest to anyone raising sheep in conventional or organic operations.
