News, Events & Updates - June 2015

Pollinator Habitat on Farms Tour

Sept 2nd  |  Peterborough County  |  Bring your own lunch 

Join us for a tour showcasing two local farms that have created and maintained pollinator habitat as part of their farming systems.  The day will culminate in a new pollinator habitat planting project on Leahy Stock Farm, near Lakefield. Participants will receive copies of A Landowner’s Guide to Conserving Native Pollinators in Ontario, and a Bumble Bee ID Guide. Pre-registration is required.

For more information, contact: info@farmsatwork.ca

Maple Syrup Mentorship Filling Up Quickly

But there are still a few spots left!

The newest addition to our roster of hands-on educational programs, the Maple Syrup Production Mentorship is designed to provide novice producers with the skills and experience they need to get started with success. Led by well-established maple producers Marc & Diane Curle, field days are set to run from October 2015 to April 2016 in Northumberland County. Designed with beginners in mind, field days will focus on a wide variety of topics, including: maple bush and woodlot management; types of production facilities and equipment; proven methods of production, including maple syrup and other value-added maple products; networking and industry exposure on a trip to an OMSPA Info Day; and the economics and marketing of maple products in Ontario. 

If you're looking to add an enterprise to your farm business and would like to learn the ropes of maple production under two experienced mentors, then click here to learn more.

Permaculture 101 + Garden Potluck 

Tuesday July 7th  |  6:00pm – 8:00 pm  |  Trent Field Garden  |  By Donation

The Trent Vegetable Gardens Presents:

Permaculture 101 with Trent Rhode from Transition Town Peterborough.

Learn all about the core principles of Permaculture and how you can apply them in your home garden, community plot, or larger garden venture. In this workshop we will explore permaculture applications such as companion planting, sheet mulching, no-till gardening and the role of perennials. We will share a potluck dinner following the workshop. Please bring a vegetarian dish or snack to share with ingredients. 

For more details, contact trentvegetablegardens@gmail.com.

Directions to the Trent field garden:

  • Go to the main parking lot of the DNA building such that you are facing the building
  • From there walk to the back left hand side of the parking lot where there will be a gate with a gravel road behind it
  • Walk through (or around if its closed) the gate and follow that path as it leads around to the left
  • Keep following that gravel road until it leads you directly into the field garden. We are just past the fenced in area. (Do not take the other road veering to the right. That will lead you astray!)
  • You can try to call or text if you get lost (647) 869-2316

Save the Date!

Ths Cities of Quinte West & Belleville are pleased to announce they will be presenting 5th annual Eastern Ontario Local Food Conference, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs. This year's conference will be held at the Travelodge in Belleville on November 4th & 5th.

The theme of this year's conference is Creativity + Collaboration = Action, and will celebrate the creativity of local food businesses, organizations and supporters of local food as they work together to build a thriving sustainable local food system in Eastern Ontario. The conference will provide opportunities for information sharing, learning from success stories and gathering info on innovative local food businesses, projects and best practices, and will also feature a Local Food Tour, with various stops to illustrate recent successes in the agriculture and culinary sectors.

Keep watching eastontlocalfood.ca, follow @eolocalfood on Twitter, and like East Ont Local Food to keep up to date on the latest conference details. 

Upcoming OSCIA Workshops

Attn: Sheep and Goat Producers

OSCIA is holding a FREE Bio-Security Workshop & Grant Funding Info Session on Thursday July 9, 2015 (6:30pm - 9:30pm) at the Douro Community Centre (Peterborough & Area). 

This biosecurity workshop is to help producers with practical knowledge and grant information to prevent or contain infectious disease on their farms.  An experienced veterinarian will lead the workshop with practical advice and best practice suggestions that have been developed by farmers and industry experts. 

Free Bio-security signage for your farm will be available at the workshop.

A representative will also be on hand to advise what GF2 grant funds may be available to assist with improvements to help with bio-security and other farm improvements. Attending the workshop is requirement for GF2 grant funding applications.

Register online soon, as space is limited. For more info, get in touch with Paul Reeds (preeds@ontariosoilcrop.org  |  (705) 341-4915), Robin Brown (robin.brown@ontariosoilcrop.org  |  (705) 718-4859), or Eric Lawlor (eric.lawlor@ontariosoilcrop.org  |  (289) 251-3042). 

Attn: Crop Producers

OSCIA is holding a free Bio-Security Workshop & Grant Funding Info Session on Tuesday July 14 (6:30pm - 9:30pm) at the Nestleton Community Centre (15km east of Port Perry).

This biosecurity workshop is to help crop producers with practical knowledge and grant information to prevent or contain invasive agents on their farms.  A Certified Crop Advisor will lead the workshop with practical advice and best practice suggestions that have been developed by farmers and industry experts.

Free Bio-security signage for your farm will be available at the workshop.

A representative will also be on hand to advise what GF2 grant funds may be available to assist with improvements to help with bio-security and other farm improvements. Attending the workshop is requirement for GF2 grant funding applications.

Register online soon, as space is limited. For more info, get in touch with Paul Reeds (preeds@ontariosoilcrop.org  |   (705) 341-4915), Robin Brown (robin.brown@ontariosoilcrop.org  |  (705) 718-4859), or Eric Lawlor (eric.lawlor@ontariosoilcrop.org  |  (289) 251-3042). 

Recycle Your Plastic Containers, Seed Bags and More!

There are now more opportunities than ever to recycle your ag waste products, thanks to CleanFarms.

Depots for free collection are located throughout east central Ontario.

Collect your recyclables starting now:

  • Empty commercial pesticide and fertilizer containers over 23 litres (click here for details and locations)
  • Empty pesticide bags: paper, plastic and multi-material
  • Empty seed bags: paper and polywoven plastic bags; regular and bulk bags (click here for details and locations here)
    • Note: not feed bags!

Note that in 2016, CleanFarms indicates that collection will be available province-wide for obsolete or unwanted pesticides and livestock medications. Save these in a secure location between now and then!

Idle Land? Plant Trees!

Forests Ontario offers generous tree planting subsidies to landowners who qualify for the government of Ontario’s 50 Million Tree Program. Help Ontario plant 50 million trees by 2025. A Forests Ontario Field Advisor will work with landowners. For more information, contact the Forestry Outreach Coordinator at 1 (877) 646-1193 x 239  |  info@forestsontario.ca. 

New and Updated Farm Stewardship Funding Programs

Kawartha Lakes Farmland Stewardship Fund

Funding is available (50-75% with individual project caps) for City of Kawartha Lakes landowners with projects demonstrating a benefit to watershed health, such as:

  • Nutrient and soil loss
  • Cropland and shoreline erosion
  • Manure storage runoff
  • Livestock access to watercourses
  • Farm well management
  • And other projects addressing water health

Attend one of two workshops - 7pm at the Kirkfield Lion’s Club on July 15th OR 7pm at the Fenelon Falls Arena and Community Centre on July 20th to learn all about this brand new program.

For more information, visit the Kawartha Conservation website or contact Becky Parker: (705) 328-2271 x 223  |  bparker@kawarthaconservation.com.  

Ducks Unlimited Canada

DUC is interested in partnering with rural landowners within the Kawartha region (Peterborough, Northumberland, City of Kawartha Lakes, Ganaraska Region) who have existing wetlands that may be providing cavity nesting opportunities for wood ducks, common goldeneye and hooded merganser. These ducks traditionally nest in tree cavities, so DUC is working with landowners who are interested in installing nest boxes on their properties for waterfowl.

For more information contact Jenn Lavigne (705) 721-4444 x 245  |  j_lavigne@ducks.ca. 

2015 SARFIP Updates

Funding is available (40-80% up to $20,000) for the adoption of BMPs to support your farm's native wildlife habitats, wetlands, streams/ponds, forests, pastures/grasslands and more. Visit the Species At Risk Farm Incentive Program website for full program details, or contact OSCIA at: (519) 826-3035  |  (226) 979-2465  |  sarfip@ontariosoilcrop.org. 

Kawartha Farm Stewardship Collaborative

Further funding opportunties are available from partners in the KFSC. If you have on-farm projects in mind, visitkawarthafarmstewardship.org and let us know how we can help by filling out a project intake form.