Behind the Lines - May 2012

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Sometimes it's easy to forget just how complex Ontario's agriculture and food-related industry is.

That was brought home to our editors as we looked over this month's cover story by Dave Pink on the increasing demand for trained agricultural school graduates in this province.

True, there are fewer farm enterprises as consolidation continues. However, there are just as many acres to be farmed and likely just as much livestock raised, using increasingly complex feed and machinery technologies.

The demand for graduates of institutions of higher learning is increasing, even as the number of students dwindles. Institutions like the Ontario Agriculture College (OAC) are looking for students from urban as well as rural areas. Are your high school-aged children looking for a promising career? The OAC says it has a 100 per cent placement rate for its graduates. That story starts on page 14.

In a follow-up to a story in our April issue about use of the Foodland Ontario logo, we look at organic milk production in Ontario. According to Guelph-based Organic Meadow, the province's largest producer by far, organic milk is being shipped into Ontario from Quebec to meet current demand. At present, it accounts for about four per cent of all milk consumption. The co-op is encouraging dairy producers to convert to organic and reap a substantial premium over conventional milk. The co-op helps producers but, if they are going to buy organic feed, it will be costly, a current producer notes. The story begins on page 26.

The deaths of 10 poultry barn workers killed in a tractor trailer crash with a van in February near Stratford was an unparalleled tragedy for the families of the workers back in Peru, for those they worked for here, and for anyone else who has family members working far away from home to better themselves and their financial situations.

The tragedy had no connection to the more than 40-year-old off-shore worker program managed by Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services. Nevertheless, its president, Ken Forth, argues that inaccurate statements about that program were repeated over and over again. In conversations with Better Farming staff, Forth sets the record straight. That story starts on page 24.

The recent spike in fuel prices, coming as it has right at planting time, is certain to increase efforts to reduce diesel consumption. Tire selection is an important part of the equation. As Mike Mulhern discovered in his story on page 54, tractor and combine tires, air pressure and tire design are critical factors in managing top soil compaction and fuel consumption. BF

ROBERT IRWIN & DON STONEMAN