in Chatsworth, Grey Highlands, Southgate, West Grey
January 12, 2023
BY DON CROSBY FOR SOUTHGREY.CA — The Grey Bruce Farmers Week this year was once again held in person at the Elmwood Community Centre after being held virtually for the past two years. The event returned to an in-person setting after being held virtually in 2021 and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was also live streamed from January 4 to 10.
The seven day event and trade show was coordinated by Grey County Ag Services in conjunction with producers, agribusiness professionals and industry experts providing insights and advice on a number of topics.
Coordinator Lorrie Smith said she was delighted with turnout of people who attended in person.
January 4: Beef Day
January 4 kicked off the event with a presentation by Dr. Jordan Thomas a cow calf expert from the University of Missouri whose topic was the “Silent Killer” of Cow-Calf profitability.
Jack Chaffe, president of Beef Farmers Ontario said that calves are selling higher these days when compared to a couple of years ago. He said that cost pressures and other unknowns that may be coming, are being watched closely by the industry. “On the feedlot side of it we are always working on a margin and margins are tight,” said Chaffe, whose family operates a fifth generation beef farm north of Mitchell. “And the packers are tightening up their margins currently,” he added.
This was followed by a presentation on Maternal Nutrition and Fetal Programming by Holly McGill a ruminant nutritionist with Elanco Canada.
Veterinarian Julia Stewart, DVM spoke about the prevention and treatment of calf diarrhea.
The final presentation the day was titled Getting On Track To Use The Precision off Livestock Tools by Betty-Jo Almond general manager of Ag Sights . The day ended with a panel on Grazing Cover Crops.
January 5: Dairy Day
January 5 was Dairy Day and it opened with Strategies With High Feed Prices, by Dr. Mike Hutjens Ph.D , professor of animal studies, University Illinois, Urbana.
That was followed by Dairy Cattle Well Being in Canada, a 360 Degree Approach by Dr. Kelly Barratt, Veterinarian, Director Animal Welfare, Saputo.
Dr. Kelly Barratt, Veterinarian, Director Animal Welfare, Saputo.
Mark Hamel , board member of Region 11 Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) gave a dairy industry update.
Hamel said DFO plans to look into its policy to deal with emergencies or times of crisis like the blizzard over Christmas that forced producers to dump thousands of litres of milk .
He admitted , the organization was unprepared for such a large-scale emergency and also could have communicated better with its members.
Hamel said he and others at DFO, which buys all milk in the province and handles the transportation, processing and sale, will spread the losses from the dumping out, across all of its more than 3,300 members in the province through a compensation and cost recovery plan.
“We didn’t have a good crisis emergency plan in place,” Hamel said. “I will take ownership of that — not all of it, but my share of it. We didn’t have a strategy in place.”
Paul Vickers, a dairy farmer from Meaford, voiced his frustration with the approach taken by DFO and how it had decided to deviate from its usual policy in dealing with the situation. He said he isn’t worried about the dollars lost, but what he called a “swirl of governance” within DFO.
“I will be honest with you, I have dumped milk other years and nobody has really given it a second thought or a second glance,” Vickers said. “Why is it any different when one or two, or a few people do it, as opposed to a larger per cent of the producers.”
Producers who had to dump their milk will be compensated for their loss, while the DFO is covering the loss through an expected reduction to the milk blend price of about $2.50 per hectolitre.
Hamel said that the reduction would be in place for a month, adding that lower demand during the holiday season would have decreased the price by $1 to $1.50 per hectolitre, even without the storm.
Ron Groen, a Bruce County dairy farmer who was emceeing the discussion, spoke favourably of the DFO’s decision.
“We dumped all our milk once and some of the milk would have been on the third day when the trucks were driving again,” Groen said, adding that he is just three kilometres from a Gay Lea plant in Teeswater.
The DFO has said consumers are unlikely to see any impact from the situation.
Michael von Massow, associate professor, University of Guelph, spoke on how the customer landscape is changing and what it means for the dairy industry.
This was followed with a panel discussion on Robotic Milking System, Past, Present and Future.
The day ended with a presentation by Christine O’Reilly, forage and grazing expert with OMAFRA, on the topic of protecting feed supplies from bi- resistant corn rootworm.
January 6-7: Goat and Sheep Days
New Canadians with an appetite for lamb, are fuelling a rise in demand as Ontario sheep farmers look to expand herds and diversify their base of producers.
“In many ways, the future of our sector has not arrived in Canada yet. We are the people who will provide for a growing number of new Canadians who value our product and enjoy it in new and different ways,” said Erin Morgan, Ontario Sheep Farmers’ executive director. “Our future will be shaped by the needs and wants of these customers.”
According to the 2021 Statistics Canada Census of Agriculture released in June there were 1,309 sheep and goat farms in Ontario representing 37 per cent of the Canadian sector.
“When it comes to the next generation I’m excited to work with our members, board and staff on strategies to support young farmers and attract and retain talent in our sector,” Morgan said.
“We all know that the recipe for success includes many ingredients: educational resources, opportunities to connect and learn with peers, inclusion in the sector, mentorship from experienced producers and opportunities for future leadership and growth.”
OMAFRA dairy specialist Marlene Paibomesai and OMAFRA engineering specialist Steve Beadle.
Dr. Robert van Saun, a professor and extension veterinarian, Pennsylvania State University, was the keynote speaker for goat and sheep days. On goat day, he spoke about understanding colostrum quality and kid passive transfer. That was followed by Goat Barn Ventilation presented by Marlene Paibomesai, a dairy specialist with OMAFRA and Steve Beadle, an engineering specialist ,sheep and swine housing with OMAFRA.
Cecelia Diebolt, General Manager of Ontario Goat Breeders Association of Ontario gave an update on Ontario Goat. Dr. Van Saun spoke about pregnancy toxemia and milk fever in goats.
Peter Kervliet Vingerhoeds and Amy Vingerhoeds gave an update on the goat code of practice.
On sheep day, Van Saun spoke about Pregnancy Toxemia and Milk Fever in Ewes. This was followed by a presentation by Markus Wand, owner/operator of Wand Family Farm who talked about expanding a sheep herd.
Erin Morgan, executive director of Sheep Farmers of Ontario gave an update on the organization
Dr. van Saun then gave his talk on Understanding Colostrum Quality and Lamb Passive Transfer. Fred Baker, Chair of Ontario Lamb Producers of Ontario, spoke about delivering for Ontario lamb producers in 2022.
There was a panel discussion on out-wintering sheep and another on meeting mineral requirements on pasture vs in-the-barn.
January 8: Horse Day
Horse Day was held on January 8. The keynote speaker was Dr. Wendy Pearson, Associate professor of equine physiology , University of Guelph who spoke about Leaky Gut Syndrome in Horses.
Saddle for the Good of the Horse was a presentation by Joyce Cameron, saddle fitter, Northern Lights Farms, and Brittany Blakely owner of Britt’s Corner Tack. That was followed by a panel discussion entitled My Must Haves for Horse Management.
The next presentation was entitled Canadian Cowgirls by Terry Jenkins Founder and Captain, Canadian Cow Girl Rodeo Drill Team.
The final presentation was on how to use Positive Reinforcement in Training Programmes to Overcome Fear by Ellie Ross, owner/operator of Circle 8 Ranch.
January 9: Ecological Day
Ecological Day was held on January 9 and the first presentation was by Carrie Wooley, Livestock Operations Manager, Schuler Farms Ltd./Wooleys’ Lamb.
Elizabeth Burrow, president and chief roaster of Jewels under the Kilt spoke about growing Nuts in Ontario.
Kevon Predon a forestry technician for Bruce County spoke about thinning coniferous plantations.
Dr. Vicky Levesque spoke about biochar, an ancient 'Black Gold' soil amendment method that may improve soil health.
That was followed by a panel discussion on cover crops and bees.
Bruce County farmer Gerald Poechman spoke about small scale poultry. Poechman made a presentation by video where he talked about how he is using some of the same practices farmers utilized decades ago in his own modern production.
Gerald and Marlene Poechman operate Poechman Family Farm in the Walkerton area .
Here, they farm 400 acres of food and feed-crops for 30 cows and 6,000 hens. Their farm has been organic for 30 years and they sell their eggs under the Yorkshire Valley brand.
"A major factor in replicating the eggs of the past is the feed being consumed by the hens," Poechman explained.
He mixes all his own feed on his farm, where his birds get a blend of corn, soybeans and oats. Poechman said the better the ingredients of the food that goes into the birds, the better the outcome in the eggs.
“Because the bird always puts the best nutrition into her offspring — that is, the egg — we see the results in a better egg,” he said.
Poechman also provides his hens with fresh greens.
“When you grow them hydroponically like we do, the birds are able to eat the green tops and the roots and the seed shell and they just love it,” he said.
During his presentation, Poechman touched on a wide range of topics about raising laying hens, including the best and most efficient breeds, how to manage the flock, ways to get the most out of your hens and ways to ensure proper nutrition to get the best eggs from them.
In Canada, the chicken egg industry operates under a supply management system. Under that quota system, unregulated egg produce are allowed to raise no more than 99 birds.
Michael Dresher, associate professor at Waterloo University spoke about adopting environmental best management practices.
The day ended with Scaling Up Organics with Biology by Brett Israel owner of 3 Gen Organics.
January 10: Crops Day
On Crops Day (January 10), Andrew Pritchard, a senior meteorologist with Nutrien Ag spoke about weather . But the weather forecaster said there are limits to forecasting weather. “There’s a saying in meteorology. 'If you can’t forecast well, forecast often',” he said during his hour-long presentation.
Prichard said a key indicator of weather is what the jet stream is doing — that winding river of wind 35,000 feet above the globe — and there are experts at weather forecasting agencies in Europe, the US, Canada, Japan and elsewhere, mulling these questions.
He predicted that the effects of La Nina, the periodic Pacific Ocean cooling, will decline.
“As La Nina fades, we should look for a more organized and a stronger jet stream across North America. And what that would lead to is more organized, higher impact storm systems making their way across North America,” he said
“So here in Ontario, you might expect to be on the cold side of much of this active storm track. So through the rest of the winter, perhaps into the early spring, maybe more in line for some of these significant winter storms and maybe a wetter start to the spring," said Pritchard.
Pritchard said we can’t blame climate change for particular storms or say that one extreme weather event represents the new normal. Climate change just introduces more variability by putting more heat into the ocean and makes the jet stream more variable.“What climate changes does, is it maybe, puts the ingredients for some of these significant weather events into place more frequently,” Pritchard said.
Later, a producer panel discussed the fourth crop, winter canola, winter barley and edible beans.
Nathan Klages spoke about Biologicals — the New Frontier.
Stephen Kell a grain merchant talked about optimizing farm income in today’s market.
Simon de Boer, a retired farmer from Tara, attended most all of the seven day events. He had a booth representing the Christian Farmers of Ontario. He has remained involved in agriculture since his retirement in 2014, including becoming President and Vice President of Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week.
He said keeping involved with Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week is a way of staying abreast of what’s going on in agriculture. ”There are very good talks," he said.”For me, on the executive of Christian Farmers’ of Ontario, I hear about a lot of problems coming people’s way and I kind of, like to know what they are talking about,” he added.
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