by Hugh Lyu

Fall is a good time for perennial weed management in wild blueberry fields.

In the fall, perennial plants translocate carbohydrates to their rhizomes and roots. And herbicides get transported to those structures during the carbohydrate translocation process, which improves their efficacy.

by George Fullerton

Dairy farmer Danny Clain of Anagance in southeastern New Brunswick was all smiles during the first week of June as Ben and Jordan Wohlgemuth’s custom harvesting crew packed silage bags full of his first-cut grass and legumes.

by Dan Woolley

The Quebec-based Agropur Dairy Cooperative has begun a major expansion of its Truro ice cream plant with a $34-million investment to both redefine the floor space of its production area and add a new manufacturing line for its frozen novelty treats.

by George Fullerton

On the first Monday in May, things at Ferme Vienneau (Vienneau Farm) in southeastern New Brunswick seemed pretty busy, with staff in a number of greenhouses loading out trays of bedding plants and loading in freshly planted trays. “As soon as we can get on the land, we will be real busy putting in long hours tilling and planting,” said Paul Vienneau.

by Zack Metcalfe

P.E.I. hasn’t been able to sell seed potatoes off-Island since November, when the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) enacted a ministerial order aimed at preventing the spread of potato wart, which has been discovered in 33 Island fields.

by George Fullerton

Brothers John and Derek Robinson of Hazelhill Farms in Sussex, N.B., have brought their Holstein herd into a rare and honoured position by receiving Holstein Canada’s 2021 Master Breeder award in January. Hazelhill was one of only 19 farms across Canada to receive the award and one of only three in Atlantic Canada (the other two were Lindenright Holsteins and MacGregor Dairy Farm, both of Nova Scotia).

by Heather Jones

Averages were up at the Maritime Beef Testing Society’s 48th annual breeding stock sale in Nappan, N.S., on April 2. The joie de vivre among friends and colleagues was palpable as – after a two-year pandemic-induced hiatus – they were able to meet face-to-face in the Maritime Beef Test Station barn. Online bidders were also accommodated.

by Alisha Johnson

Lisa and Scott MacEachern have a mission to provide Nova Scotians with plenty of quality, locally sourced beef, the need for which has been amplified even more by the pandemic. Since their family farm, Ashcroft Angus Farms in Bailey’s Brook, Pictou County, N.S., was founded in 2015, they’ve been doing just that.

by Emily Leeson

Avian influenza has arrived in Nova Scotia. It was first confirmed in a Canada goose in the Grand Desert area of Halifax County. By Feb. 3, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed the presence of the virus in a commercial poultry barn in western Nova Scotia. Shortly thereafter, 12,000 turkeys were euthanized.

by George Fullerton

On a clear and cold Sunday afternoon, Jan. 23, my bale spike repair efforts were interrupted by a phone call with a simple and alarming declaration: “Dad, Jeff’s barn is on fire!” It was our youngest daughter, Nora. She added: “He just called me from the mill. He is on his way home.”

by Zack Metcalfe

Whether it’s a Yukon Gold or a Russet Burbank, there’s nothing simple about the potato on your cutting board. Behind its thin skin and starchy interior lies millennia of careful cultivation and centuries of geopolitical controversy. It’s a lot to fathom while baking a shepherd’s pie.

by George Fullerton

New Brunswick’s Route 134 follows the Bay of Chaleur coast, providing spectacular views of the bay and the distant southern coast of Quebec’s Gaspé region. The land is relatively flat, tipping gently to the coast. There is plenty of evidence of unused agricultural land and pockets of active farming.

by Matthew Carlson

There’s a great opportunity for those interested in getting into farming in the St. John’s, N.L., area. The O’Brien Farm Foundation’s incubator farm program has three open plots for the upcoming 2022 growing season. The program will provide access to resources such as equipment, land, and mentoring.

by George Fullerton
Rebecca Williams is the third generation of the Williams family to take on a portion of the management responsibilities at Pond View Farms in Goulds, N.L., a 15-minute drive south of St. John’s. She comes to her position with a business management (dairy) diploma from Dalhousie University’s Agricultural Campus in Truro, N.S.

by George Fullerton

The Kings County Soil and Crop Improvement Association in southern New Brunswick chose their Aug. 31 rain date to host their forage demo day in Knightville. “Typically, we see around 80 people attending our equipment field days,” said association coordinator Joe Graham.

by Thomas Harrington

As many producers are in the midst of the busy fall harvest season, it could be nearing the last opportunity to establish a cover crop before winter. August and September are the safest times to reliably establish a cover crop, but if weather conditions are favourable, there may still be a few opportunities for late fall plantings.

by George Fullerton

Hector Robichaud became a blueberry farmer in 2000, partially at the encouragement of his brother, who thought the blueberry industry offered good potential.

by Andrew Byers

As a beekeeper, I’m often asked the question, “How are the bees?” This year in Eastern Canada, the answer is easy because this season has been exceptional! This is a good year for honeybees and all insects. While recently standing in one of my fields, I found the bounty of wildflowers and the audible buzz of flying insects truly impressive.

by George Fullerton

Lisa Ashworth graciously agreed to a profile of her farm on very short notice in mid-July. But, as president of the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick (AANB), she was participating in a Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) conference call. And her husband Derek and their son Logan were busy baling hay.

by Dan Woolley

Atlantic Stockyards Ltd. just outside Truro, N.S., has weathered three successive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020. “We never faced a shutdown,” said stockyard co-owner Scott Dixon recently.

by George Fullerton

Eva Rehak and Alain Rousselle figure they’ve found their lives’ sweet spot. The couple and their three children – Rose, Claire, and Jakob – operate Alva Farm in Saint-Maurice, N.B., a short distance west of Bouctouche.

by Matthew Carlson

Stephanie Lipp, an aspiring mushroom grower in Bonavista, N.L., is the newest mentee in the Newfoundland and Labrador Young Farmers Forum (NLYFF) mentorship pilot program.

by Emily Leeson

Adam Webster’s cannabis plants weren’t yet transplanted into the new fenced-in plot he had ready for them on his farm in Port Williams, N.S., in late May, but he was already deeply concerned about the profitably of his next crop.

by George Fullerton

At the end of the first week in May, Tim Livingstone was delighted to see his crew of five seasonal agriculture workers from Mexico finished with their COVID-19 isolation and in the field planting strawberries.

by Kathy Birt

Harry and Vicki Elsinga of Brookwater Farms in Kensington, P.E.I., are a team when it comes to their flock of 200 sheep. “He gets them out alive and I keep them alive,” said Vicki of the looming lambing period that takes place on this farm every April and May.

by George Fullerton

Grant’s Breeder Farm in Kars, N.B., on the Belleisle Bay branch of the Saint John River, has grown from a traditional mixed farm in the 1950s to a sprawling operation today that includes a poultry breeder flock for day-old chick and pullet sales, egg production, a dairy herd, a feed mill, and soon a custom forage harvesting service.

by Sajid Rehman

Plant-parasitic nematodes are soil-inhabiting microscopic worms with a body length of less than one millimetre. They are ubiquitous, found in all climates and every type of soil.

by Stefanie Wilson
When animal science student Thian Carman sets his mind to something, there’s no stopping him. That’s how he became Nova Scotia’s youngest registered farm owner at 14 years old.
“I always wanted to do something with animals,” said Carman, who is from Digby County and attends Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture.

by Dan Woolley
Divert NS hosted a one-day “agricultural waste to resource summit” in Truro, N.S., on March 6 for farmers, agricultural businesses, and municipal and provincial officials.

by Joan LeBlanc
An operation near Memramcook, N.B., which includes a farm and a meat market, has been named farm of the year by the Chignecto Soil and Crop Improvement Association.
Guy and Della Boudreau were presented with the honours at a special awards dinner in Sackville, N.B., in late January.

by Emily Leeson

One recent day in late February, Patrick VanOostrum was working out of the VanOostrum Farm Equipment facility in Port Williams, N.S. The next morning, he was on the road toward the Blueline New Holland shop in Truro. While the recent merger of the two businesses means big changes for both companies – combined they share more than 90 years of experience selling and servicing agricultural equipment in Nova Scotia – one thing is for sure, amidst all the changes, VanOostrum’s truck certainly isn’t the only company vehicle on the road.

by Kathy Birt

Matthias Drake, 22, is the fifth generation on the family farm on Drake Road in Millview, P.E.I. Scott Drake, Matthias’s dad, is the go-to guy for meat from their 300-head beef operation. With a meat shop on the farm since 1992, Scott said he learned the meat-cutting business by working with Shaw Meats in Lorne Valley, and also by working alongside his father and grandfather while growing up. With both his father and grandfather in the meat business, he had plenty of opportunity to nurture and perfect his meat-cutting skills.

by George Fullerton

Joerg Von Waldow came to Canada from his native Germany for the first time when he was 19 years old. His purpose was to visit his parents, who had established a poultry operation in Cambridge-Narrows, N.B., a few years earlier. Joerg returned to Germany and worked as a machinist. Later on, he made another trip to this country, first visiting Western Canada and then, in 1973, returning to New Brunswick, where he eventually established himself as a dairy farmer.

by Paul Connors

The 44th annual general meeting and workshop of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture (NLFA) was held Jan. 30 and 31 at the Quality Hotel in Gander. The event attracted 125 people, the highest turnout in several years, beating last year’s high turnout of 111. This figure includes farmers, industry stakeholders, and representatives from government and various other groups from across the province. “Working together for the future of the agriculture industry” was this year’s workshop theme.

by Heather Jones

Post-traumatic distress disorder, parent-child conflicts, and suicide were some of the issues Prince Edward Island farmers had to cope with in 2018. But they had help from the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture (PEIFA).The PEIFA’s Farmer Assistance Program helps 80 to 100 farmers or farm family members every year. Between 185 and 200 interviews are conducted annually by professional counsellors.

by Joan LeBlanc

The saga began more than 60 years ago when Antonius (Tony) and Adriana (Mien) Rommens emigrated from Holland to Canada in 1956. With a determined desire to be a dairy farmer, Tony worked on several farms in southeastern New Brunswick prior to the couple purchasing their farm in Melrose, N.B., in 1959, naming it Roga Farm in honour of the couple’s family names – Rommens and van Gaans.

by Emily Leeson

Elizabeth Heighton isn’t resting on her laurels despite a number of accomplishments at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto this past year for herself and Cornerstone Emma, the Charolais heifer she shows. They placed in the semifinals in intermediate showmanship, achieved second in their heat in the senior Charolais class, and made it into the champion Charolais drive.

by Jonathan Wort

The new year is a period of optimism and anticipation for most people. For many cow-calf producers, it signals the start of calving season and the arrival of a new crop of calves. It is a period of excitement and hard work for all involved. It is also an opportunity to see the impact of the bull that you have used to breed your cows.

by Dan Woolley

Dr. Andria Jones-Bitton knows well the many sources of on-farm mental health distress. She is a veterinarian, epidemiologist, and associate professor at the University of Guelph’s population medicine department. She also heads a research team examining the multiple roots of farmer psychological stress. They include weather and climate change, farm labour, finances, government regulatory burden, family problems and succession planning, threats to supply management, social isolation, public scrutiny, and activism.

by George Fullerton

Around 100 registrants from across New Brunswick attended a conference titled Exploring Value-Added Opportunities for Farms and Entrepreneurs held at the Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre in Fredericton on Dec. 4. The New Brunswick Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fisheries sponsored the conference. Several presenters took time to define “value added,” which in the context of agriculture refers to increasing the value of a primary product through processing, manufacturing, or special marketing efforts.

by Kathy Birt

When 19-year-old Maddie Stewart of Frenchfort, P.E.I., entered 4-H at age nine, she may not have had dreams of winning national honours. But that’s exactly what she received in November at the Royal Winter Agricultural Fair in Toronto. Maddie Stewart and the heifer calf she showed at the Royal finished second as the reserve grand champion in the 2018 TD Canadian 4-H Classic competition. That was after competing in the junior yearling conformation and showmanship competitions.

by Rupert Jannasch

“Antimicrobial Resistance and Use in Canada: A Federal Framework for Action” marks a turning point for antibiotic use in animal agriculture. As of Dec. 1, 2018, almost all antibiotics used for animals will have to be prescribed by a veterinarian. Legal prescriptions will depend on having a valid veterinary-client-patient relationship (VCPR) in place. At a minimum, maintaining a VCPR will require a yearly farm visit by a vet.

by George Fullerton

Becky and Dwayne Perry’s dairy farm has been named the New Brunswick Soil and Crop Improvement Association’s Kings County farm of the year. The Perrys have a 110-head milking herd and are very active in the agriculture community. Dwayne grew up on the family farm in Perry Settlement, near Sussex, working alongside his father Reg, who operated a 50-cow dairy operation.

by Peter Burgess

Wild blueberry farmers have had three very hard years in a row. They’ve experienced two years of historically low farm gate prices, followed by an extreme weather event that impacted yields severely in many parts of Nova Scotia. In the end, the freeze event of 2018 ended up being much worse for many growers, as most had already applied most of their inputs and had very little opportunity to recoup any of those costs.

by Matthew Carlson

The Newfoundland and Labrador Young Farmers’ Forum (NLYFF) hosted its fourth annual Leadership Summit in St. John’s on Nov. 14 and 15. This year we once again built on the success from previous years with great feedback and a solid attendance. About 40 delegates, including young farmers, government representatives, and other industry stakeholders attended the event.

by Marlene Campbell

I have a powerful childhood memory from the 1960s of playing alone in the living room of our old farmhouse in the community of Southwest Lot 16, P.E.I., while my mother worked alone in the barn milking our dairy cows and doing the chores. I remember the anticipation of waiting for my father to come home from a faraway place called Montreal where, I would later learn, he participated in meetings to establish an efficient modernized system that would give him and every other dairy farmer in Canada a fair return on their labour and investment.

by Emily Leeson
​​​​​​​There have been several accounts by P.E.I. farmers of disturbance and damage to their land in recent months. The issue has been off-road traffic on farmland. The consequences have run from nuisance to costly damage to crops and equipment. With social media now at the fingertips of Island farmers, the situation has gone viral. Twitter, Facebook, and subsequently Maritime news outlets have been abuzz with the problem on P.E.I. – thoughtless trespassing. 

by Heather Jones
​​​​​​​Insulation and ventilation are the primary reasons why Manzer Apiary’s EZ Hives only lost three percent of their bees last winter in Acadia University field trials while the average Nova Scotia beekeeper lost 25 percent, according to Brian Manzer, who owns the Digby, N.S., company with his brother Owen.

by George Fullerton
A heavy snow load in the north Saint John River watershed rapidly melted and resulted in a major flooding event on the lower part of the watershed in late April and early May.

by Emma Geldart
“It’s a beautiful day.” For more than 20 years, Dr. Claude Caldwell has made it a point to address almost every class he’s taught in China with these four words. And it was no different for Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture graduating students on May 11. “If you remember nothing else today, remember it is a beautiful day,” he told members of the Class of 2018 during their convocation ceremony.

by Emma Geldart
Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture in Truro, N.S., will soon offer a doctoral degree in agriculture sciences – the first degree of its kind in Atlantic Canada. A program of this nature is expected to create many opportunities for Dal AC and its students, and is ambitiously aiming to start accepting students as early as this month.

by Emily Leeson
“The soil is your bank account,” said Vernon Campbell of Grahams Road, P.E.I., in a recent interview. “You can’t just keep taking out of it. You’ve got to put something back in.” Campbell is echoing what he believes Island farmers already know: soil health isn’t something to be taken for granted. 

by George Fullerton
Don and Geraldine Bettle, along with Austin Richard who is mentored by the Bettles, were named New Brunswick’s cattle producers of the year at the Maritime Beef Conference in Moncton in mid-March. The Bettle family’s Point Farm is on the outskirts of Hampton, N.B.
Beef cattle have been part of the Bettle family’s operation since Don and Geraldine bought the farm from Don’s parents in 1976.

by Joan LeBlanc
Kier Miller of Sussex Corner, N.B., said he was “speechless” when he found out the New Brunswick Soil and Crop Improvement Association had named his operation the province’s 2017 farm of the year.
“I couldn’t put coherent thoughts together at the time,” he said.

by Stefanie Wilson
When animal science student Thian Carman sets his mind to something, there’s no stopping him. That’s how he became Nova Scotia’s youngest registered farm owner at 14 years old.
“I always wanted to do something with animals,” said Carman, who is from Digby County and attends Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture.

by Dan Woolley
Divert NS hosted a one-day “agricultural waste to resource summit” in Truro, N.S., on March 6 for farmers, agricultural businesses, and municipal and provincial officials.

by Joan LeBlanc
An operation near Memramcook, N.B., which includes a farm and a meat market, has been named farm of the year by the Chignecto Soil and Crop Improvement Association.
Guy and Della Boudreau were presented with the honours at a special awards dinner in Sackville, N.B., in late January.

by Maddison Bushen
Ever since becoming established in 2016, the Country View 4-H Club has been on a roll. This year, we are 12 members and five leaders strong with plenty of support from the community. Our club is based in Linden, N.S., with members from the Wentworth, Pugwash, and Linden areas. Our general leader is Tracey McEachern.

by Emily Leeson
Heather Morrissey had high hopes when she moved from Ontario to rural Nova Scotia with the intention of buying a farm to grow lavender. But that first winter though was tough. “I lost 2,000 plants,” recalled Morrissey. But she didn’t give up. In fact, she just got more serious about growing lavender in Nova Scotia’s climate. What she needed was tougher plants.

by George Fullerton
Auenland Farm began selling solar-generated electrical power to the New Brunswick grid in December. It’s being touted as New Brunswick’s “first solar farm.” Frank Jopp operates Auenland Farm, in Mount Pisgah, east of Sussex, with his wife Elke and their sons Alexander and Micha, milking 110 cows and cropping about 600 acres.

by Merv Wiseman
The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture’s 43rd annual general meeting and workshop took place Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at the Quality Hotel in Gander. The event attracted 111 people, the highest turnout in several years.

by Joan LeBlanc
It’s been more than 20 years since a father and son from southeastern New Brunswick began working their vegetable and beef operation together, and increasing their herd with the best quality genetics is high on their list of priorities.

by Emily Leeson
There are some serious, if microscopic, battles underway in petri dishes at Acadia University’s biology department. Different species of fungi are facing off against a common enemy: Fusarium basal rot.

by Heather Jones
It’s taken almost 30 years but Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) scientists have won a monumental battle against the Colorado potato beetle (CPB). Dr. Benoit Bizimungu and Agnes Murphy, potato breeding research scientists at the Fredericton Research and Development Centre, recently developed two selections that are resistant to the major insect pest.

by Nicolle MacDonald

There are many moments in the course of our lives that shape us, but for the most part, we don’t know when these moments are until we take a look back and see the impact they had.
When you start off by saying that you are going on a weeklong trip, Madison, Wis., is about the last place anyone would expect as your destination.

by Emily Leeson
Bertha Campbell has done her time grading potatoes, milking cows, and helping out in the fields. Somewhere along the line she also managed to raise three children, advance her career as a public health nurse, and volunteer her time and energy in community involvement. “It’s a juggling act certainly for any family,” she said. “Raising children and nurturing your farm – it’s busy.”

by Shannon Jones
I remember when my partner Bryan and I first started our farm and were applying for a loan. We noticed that the lending officer started off speaking to and facing Bryan. However, I was the one who kept replying to the lending officer and only then did he realize that he needed to shift his position to face both of us. The same thing happened when we went to buy a tractor. 

by Dan Woolley
The wild blueberry industry may continue bumping along the price bottom for some time but there are indications of a price upswing in 2018. Barron Blois, president of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia (WBPANS), told attendees at the association’s annual general meeting in Truro on Nov. 17 that there are reasons for optimism following the three very large crops since 2014 that pushed the wild blueberry supply in storage ahead of market demand and depressed the price.

by Emily Leeson
SomaDetect, a Fredericton startup company aimed at making herd health decisions easier for dairy producers, has received a major financial boost from south of the border. On Oct. 5, the six-person company won the 43North startup competition in Buffalo, N.Y. The grand prize is worth $1 million and includes the opportunity for the company to open a Buffalo office. SomaDetect is developing a sensor and software system to be used in the milk line.

by Emily Leeson
The cranberry harvest has wrapped up and Terra Beata Farms has fared much better than others in the industry. After 13 days in a row of harvesting, the Ernst family brought in more than 300,000 pounds of cranberries off their bogs on Heckmans Island in Nova Scotia’s Lunenburg County. That’s a higher yield than average. However, many cranberry producers elsewhere in Eastern Canada felt the effects of a dry summer.

by Emily Leeson
Alex Smith of Londonderry, N.S., is heading to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. Smith and Drama Queen, the Charolais heifer that she’s been training, have completed a successful year on the Nova Scotia 4-H circuit, and now they’ll make their way to Ontario for the Royal in early November. The trip will be a big change of scene for Smith.

by Emily Leeson
It is a crisp fall morning in the hamlet of Greenwich, N.S., and the weekend traffic has already begun. Cars are stopping at the several farm markets along the old highway. 
Stirling Fruit Farms, just beyond the boundary between Greenwich and Wolfville, recently celebrated its centennial anniversary.

by Joan LeBlanc
Acres of plants hanging low with clusters of bulging fresh grapes are a welcome sight this year at a produce farm based in Shemogue, N.B. Maic (pronounced “Mike”) and Silke Jakob brought their family of four young boys – Silas, Bill, Joris, and Luka – to Canada five years ago to start a new chapter in their lives as produce growers.

by Heather Jones

The status quo of Labrador’s agricultural industry is not acceptable, according to farmers in the central part of the region. Des Sellars recently made 13 recommendations on behalf of the Lake Melville Agricultural Association to the provincial committee that’s consulting farmers and stakeholders on a risk assessment for the Newfoundland and Labrador industry.

by Joan LeBlanc

Mother Nature was a bit fickle with her weather conditions this year. That played havoc with some New Brunswick vegetable producers but worked well for others.
“It was wet – we got stuck spreading lime – so we went to other fields we have that are drier,” said Robert Murray, who with his wife Shelley and son and daughter-in-law Nathan and Jessica, own and operate Murray’s Farm Fresh Vegetables in Point de Bute, N.B.

by Dan Woolley

Members of the Northumberland Lamb Marketing Co-operative, commonly called “NorthumberLamb,” marked their 35th anniversary with a reunion and lamb chop barbecue on Sept. 23 in Toney River, Pictou County, N.S. NorthumberLamb began as a marketing agency for Nova Scotia lamb in 1982, when the co-op’s original seven members held their first meeting and elected their directors.

by Vern Faulkner
More red tape and more taxes for Canada’s farmers: that’s the impact of tax changes now in force, and two more proposed by the federal government.
Previously, small businesses – including farms operating as corporations – were allowed to earn upward of $500,000 at a favourable tax rate aimed at aiding small businesses.

by Emily Leeson
Nothing seems to be adding up for wild blueberry producers this year. With record-sized crops over the last few years and plummeting prices paid to producers, there’s no sign that this year is going to bring back financial stability to the industry.
“We were hoping for a gradual turnaround of the situation this year, but it’s not shaping up like that at this stage,” said Peter Rideout, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia, in late August.

For two Nova Scotians recently announced as future recipients of the unique Nuffield scholarship, the next couple of years will mean more than one trip of a lifetime. 
Josh Oulton of Port Williams and Ellen Crane of Murray Siding will officially be awarded with Nuffield scholarships worth $15,000 in 2018.

by Joan LeBlanc
Longtime beef and sheep farmers Allan and Patricia Goodwin were honoured as farmers of the year for 2017 during the annual Port Elgin Exhibition, held Aug. 18-21 in the southeastern New Brunswick village.
The couple, who accepted the award during the exhibition’s opening ceremonies, are both area natives. Allan is from the Sackville area, while Pat grew up in the community of Baie Verte.

by Vern Faulkner
The formula for beer remains relatively unchanged: barley, water, yeast, perhaps malt, and hops. It is the latter, the flower of a vine-like plant, that lends bitterness and flavour to beer. And as the number of craft breweries has grown in New Brunswick, so too has the number of farmers growing hops...

by Emily Leeson
Farmers like to have fun too. Visit the grandkids out in Alberta, head down to Florida when the doldrums of winter are at their worst. Even a weekend in the city wouldn’t be bad. But a quick getaway isn’t so simple when you’ve got a barn full of livestock needing regular everything...

by Dan Woolley
At the 2017 Maritime Wild Blueberry Field Day, Nova Scotia Agriculture Minister Keith Colwell promised the 325 growers from the three Maritime provinces attending the event at Doug Bragg Enterprises in Collingwood, N.S., that he will work with his New Brunswick and P.E.I. ministerial counterparts to...

by Emily Leeson
Roger Henry is out in the fields of the Harrington Research Centre north of Charlottetown on a day in late July. The wind is a bit rough, but he’s got a good degree of protection standing among the Yellow blossom sweet clover he’s growing. It’s just about at seven feet tall now. 

by Vern Faulkner
A brief mid-June memo issued by New Brunswick’s provincial apiarist sent a shockwave through the province’s beekeeping community: samples of Small hive beetle (SHB) were found in hives imported from Ontario. Samples taken on June 3 and 4 tested positive for the pest, stated provincial apiarist Chris Maund. 

by Heather Jones
History was made on June 9 when 10 acres of Cerveza malting barley were planted on Larch Grove Farm in Cormack, N.L. Ian Richardson of Larch Grove Farm expects to harvest the crop in mid-September and keep the straw for bedding his dairy herd. If the quality is suitable, the grain will be shipped to the ...

by Clara Bullock
An interest in dairy and a passion for travel has taken 21-year-old Mandy Smith around the world. Smith grew up in rural Nova Scotia with family ties to dairy farming. She realized at a young age her passion for livestock production, but more than anything, her love for all living creatures...

by Emily Leeson
It was a cold and rainy day on June 17, and although many had likely dug out their winter hats to withstand a few hours sat down in an open barn, more than 40 local beef producers and 4-Hers still turned out for Jane Morrigan’s humane cattle handling workshop in Falmouth, N.S...

by Emily Leeson
“If you have one wireworm, you have wireworms.” That’s the stark reality that Dr. Christine Noronha, an entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Prince Edward Island, presented at the Kentville Research Station in Kentville, N.S., on May 12. Wireworms are the larvae of click beetles...

by Emma Geldart
If you had asked Holly Fisher four years ago to stand in front of hundreds of people and speak on behalf of her graduating class, she probably would have said no. But that’s exactly what she did at the Faculty of Agriculture graduation ceremony on May 12 as her class valedictorian. Nervous? Not at all...

by Joan LeBlanc
After seeing two of his ewes each give birth to five healthy lambs this spring, a New Brunswick man should have gone right out and bought a lottery ticket.  “Yes, I thought I probably should have, but I didn’t,” lamb producer Murray Deman admitted recently, adding that the odds of a sheep giving birth...

by Gayle Wilson
Changing demands in the retail industry and the new Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Layers have spurred DeLong Farms of Barss Corner, N.S., to invest approximately $1.8 million in a new layer barn. New cages were expected to arrive from the Italian company Valli in the middle of May...