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SHORT
TAKES
Since the
United Nations
declared
2016 the International Year of Pulses,
it seems fitting that
Better Farming
provides a year-end review of pulse
production in Ontario. Perhaps
producers will have reason to incor-
porate these crops into their rotations
as world-wide demand for these
plant-based proteins grows.
“Pulse crops include dry beans, dry
peas, lentils and chickpeas and
deserve to be celebrated,” says
Jennifer Mitchell
, project coordina-
tor for
Ontario Bean Growers
. These
crops “have a low carbon footprint
and require less water and fertilizer
than other crops.”
This year, Ontario growers pro-
duced some 60,000 acres of dry beans
– an average amount of acres for the
province, according to the
Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Rural Affairs
.
But this season had been a particu-
larly tough one for bean growers,
resulting in yield losses of approxi-
mately 15 to 20 per cent due to the
extreme heat and dry weather,
according to Mitchell.
Amongst a variety of coloured dry
beans, Ontario farmers mostly grow
white and black beans.
In terms of other pulses, “field pea
production is increasing in northern
Ontario due to an outbreak of swede
midge in canola,” says Mitchell.
“Growers needed a profitable, cool
season crop as a replacement or
supplement to canola in the rotation.”
The largest markets for
Canadian-grown pulses include India,
China, Turkey, Bangladesh and the
United States. Specifically, past
drought conditions in India, and
increased food manufacturing
demand in China have supplied
stronger export opportunities for
Canada,
Pulse Canada
said in an
email.
BF
Thinking of getting into the poultry
industry? Now may be the time,
thanks to the introduction of the
Chicken Farmers of Ontario’s
(CFO)
Artisanal Chicken Program.
“Traditionally, there have (mostly)
been large-scale commercial opportu-
nities,” says
Michael Edmonds
,
director of communications for CFO.
“Our board felt, having reviewed the
market and looked at requests from
smaller farmers, there was an oppor-
tunity.”
This first year, the program
included 100 farmers province-wide,
according to Edmonds. These farmers
served a wide array of markets,
including specialty butcher shops and
farmers markets.
“All of these farmers are not new
necessarily to farming, but are new to
chickens; they didn’t see an opportu-
nity before,” says Edmonds.
The program aims to provide both
a market for farmers and products for
consumers. “We think we met most of
the goals we were trying to reach” in
our first year, says Edmonds.
Northern Ontario was one target
of the program, as the area tradition-
ally lacked chicken farmers, says
Edmonds. “A large number of farmers
were able to start up operations in
northern areas. The farmers (involved
in the program) are well distributed
across the province; this is important
to us.
“We expect the program to grow
even more next year.”
The program accepts applicants
who raise between 600 and 3,000
chickens and have passed an audit for
food safety and animal welfare
concerns.
Interested producers can contact
CFO to learn more about the pro-
gram and its application process.
BF
Artisanal chicken program
Spotlight on the International Year of Pulses
jat306/Creative RF/Getty Images photo
ahavelaar/Creative RF/Getty Images photo
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Better Farming
December 2016