Oxford Soil & Crop
Improvement Association
Impressions and Thoughts after touring
Newfoundland Agriculture August 2011
Mark Kirwin, 1 st Vice President, Oxford SCIA, Dairy Producer
Gord Green, Ontario SCIA Provincial Director, Dairy Producer
Cathy Dibble, OSCIA Regional Communications Coordinator Lead, Broiler Producer
Mark Kirwin, Presenter
Dairy Farmer near Ingersoll, ON
Milking 130 cows, 650 acres of hay, corn, soybeans, wheat
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Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement
Grassroots member organization since 1939
Work closely with, and receive funding from
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Affairs
Administers Environmental Farm Plan and
Growing Your Farm Profits Programs
Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement
Provide grants to local organizations to run field projects, tours, and other producer information events
Work in close partnership with OMAFRA to communicate events, news, and pertinent and timely cropping information to members via websites and newsletters
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Oxford Soil & Crop
Improvement
350 paid members
Test plots, field trials, producer information meetings, newsletters, tours
Affiliate of Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement
Association
Work very closely with OMAFRA staff for field projects and meetings
Oxford County
1.5 hours southwest of Toronto
30 minutes east of London
Lake Ontario
TORONTO Lake Huron
LONDON
Lake Erie
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Oxford County
Home of both CAMI (GM/Suzuki) Automotive and Toyota production facilities
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Oxford County
In the heart of Southwestern Ontario, with some of the most fertile and productive land in the province courtesy Jamie Janssen
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Oxford County
Bisected by Canada's largest and busiest transportation route, Highway 401
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Oxford County Statistics
Population: 102,756
Largest cities:
Woodstock pop. 35,480
Tillsonburg 14,822
Ingersoll 11,760
(2006 census data)
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Oxford County Agriculture
From 2006 Census of Agriculture
Oxford Ontario
# farms 1990 57,211
Acres 415,975 9.04 million
Greenhouse 101 million m2 1.17 million m2
Dairy 363
Poultry/Eggs 114
Beef 219
Grains & Oilseeds 528
Hogs 202
Other livestock 246
Other crops 318 major crops: Corn, Hay, Soybeans and Wheat
Oxford County Agriculture
2900-3200 Heat Unit zone
Typically receive 500-600 mm rain/growing season
Average production (2010):
Silage corn 18 t/acre Hay 3.7 t/acre
Known as the “Dairy Capital of Canada”
Typically do 3-4 cuts silage/season
More field management & self reliant/sufficient for owned equipment
Rations
Milk price $0.78
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Oxford County Agriculture
Land values currently selling for $9,000-
15,000/acre, rent $150-300/acre
Quota values:
Dairy: $25,000/$35,000
Broilers: $105/unit (12 kg of meat production/year)
Layers: $240/hen/year courtesy Jamie Janssen
Oxford County Agriculture
Home of the largest leek farm in Ontario (and possibly Canada)
Other large scale produce farms (veggies, potatoes, melons)
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Oxford County Agriculture
Home of Salford Farm Machinery makers of the Salford RTS & other equipment
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Oxford County Agriculture
Home of Local Dairy – makers of high quality yogurts, cheeses, creams and butters
Authentic line of East Indian dairy products
Latin America inspired creams and cheeses
All milk source locally in and around Oxford
County localdairy.ca
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Ontario Agriculture
Opportunities:
Power generation – solar, wind, biofuels, digesters
Miscanthus for biofuels
Ontario Greenhouse Agriculture
Greenhouse production in Ontario:
Tomatoes
Peppers
Cucumber
Flowers
2010 Sales:
Ornamentals & Plants $720 m
Vegetables $656 m
Many greenhouses are now investigating alternative heat sources such as solar and biofuels to provide heat in winter months
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Rural/Urban Interface

Two large automotive manufacturing facilities have taken large amounts of available county farmland out of production

Issues appear similar to what we witnessed in St
John's area – size of equipment, odour issues, proximity of farms to urban areas
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Rural/Urban Interface
Source Water
Protection
Important issue in
Ontario since
“Walkerton” water issues May 2000
Setbacks to urban water wells for application of nutrients
Local Municipal Water Well bordering farmland
Good research on nitrate movements being studied locally
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Rural/Urban Interface
Oxford County Agricultural Advisory Committee
Established to develop nutrient management policy for intensive livestock operations
Broadened scope to better represent interests of agricultural industry to county council
Includes members from all major commodity groups and organizations
Rural/Urban Interface
Education & Opportunities
Junior Farmers Association
Promotion at local fairs
Educational farm tours through primary schools
Farm tours
Culinary student & media farm tours
Open houses
Corn mazes etc
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Rural/Urban Interface
Education & Opportunities
Social Media – Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogs
– Producers connecting with potential and existing customers for farm gate sales, events etc
– Bridging the gap between farm and table to educate consumers on where their food comes from and how it is produced
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Rural/Urban Interface
Education & Opportunities
“Dairy Days” - Oxford Milk Committee
3 Day educational event for Grade 4 students from across the county
Stations on: milk production, cows, diary breeds, milk transportation, farm safety
Local Federation of Agriculture – Farm Tours for County Council Representatives
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Rural/Urban Interface
Challenges:
Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Given strong enforcement abilities to enter production facilities and establish requirements for producer to follow
Many of the officers not well educated on normal farm practices, causing confusion, grief and several unnecessary legal charges and costs against producers
Rural/Urban Interface
Challenges:
Large areas of productive farmland being lost to industrial, commercial and residential development
Great deal of competition for farmland, both to rent and buy
High cost/little available quota for purchase in all supply managed sectors makes expansion difficult
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Other Challenges
The WEATHER!!!!
Very wet spring and fall in Ontario 2011
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Other Challenges
The WEATHER!!!
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Provincial Education/Promotion
Foodland Ontario advertising:
“Good Things Grow in Ontario”
Logo makes local produce easily identifiable in stores
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Provincial Education/Promotion
Ontario Farm Animal Council (ofac.org):
Culinary media and student tours of farms
Faces of Farming calendars
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Provincial Education/Promotion
Ontario Farm Animal Council:
“The Real Dirt on
Farming” educational magazine
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Provincial Education/Promotion
Farm Issues (farmissues.com):
Virtual Farm Tours online – consumer education videos
Oxford beef feedlot
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Provincial Education/Promotion
Farmers Feed Cities (farmersfeedcities.com)
Established by Ontario
Grains & Oilseeds
Commodity Groups
Farmers Feed Cities is committed to increasing the understanding of the value that farmers contribute to Ontario’s economic physical and social health. Farmers Feed Cities is committed to ensuring a sustainable future for farmers in Ontario.
oxfordbuylocal.ca
Local Initiatives
“Buy Local” Maps
Available in most counties
Developed locally, mostly through cooperation amongst agricultural organizations
Locations and contact info for Pick-your-own and ready picked operations, farm market stores, farm gate sales etc
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Agritourism & Farm Gate Sales
Wineries, Corn Mazes, Pumpkin, Maple Syrup,
Apple and Fall Festivals
Market Garden Stands
Local Farmer's Markets
Largely dependent on proximity to cities, infrastructure & access
Agritourism & Farm Gate Sales
Woodstock ON
Apples, Cider & Pies
Pumpkins, Preserves
Fruit Wines
Hay Rides, Farm Tours, Apple Festival “Local Flavours” local food festival courtesy Dyann Birtch
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Agritourism & Farm Gate Sales
Artisan Cheeses made with milk sourced from from family's dairy farm
3 Varieties of cheese
Cheese factory tours, petting zoo, school tours courtesy Shep Ysselstien
Agritourism & Farm Gate Sales
Ruthven ON
Greenhouse – Seasonal Plants
Tropical Flowers
Buffet & Catering
Petting Farm
Amusement Rides
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Agritourism & Farm Gate Sales
Norwich (Oxford) Optimist Corn Maze 2011
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Agritourism & Farm Gate Sales
Snyders Family Fun Farm (near Oxford)
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Environmental Farm Plan
– Provincially:
Over 35,000 participants since 1993
Over 13,000 since 3 rd Edition in 2005
Since April 2005, 20,500 projects representing
$312 million+ in gross costs supported through COFSP
Top projects: Precision agriculture (GPS), riparian area management, water well management, farm yard runoff controls, and improved cropping practices (ie: no-till)
2012 COFSP funds ($5.6 million) completely allocated in under 2 hours
Environmental Farm Plan
Oxford:
Over 450 participants since 3 rd Edition in 2005
Since April 2005, over 780 projects and $3.9 million in cost-share funding allocated
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Our Impressions?
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Our Impressions?
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Our Impressions?
Land base is very challenging compared to what we are used to
Buy local could be a very big market to tap into
Greenhouse production – a good opportunity to further develop local production?
We were very surprised to see first-hand that many locals knew very little about
Newfoundland agriculture (taxi drivers etc)
Our Impressions?
YOUR HOSPITALITY!!!
Producers we visited were very keen, welcoming and informative – great ambassadors for agriculture in your province and a good starting point for future tourism plans
Thank you so much to Carol Walsh, Margaret
Barnes, Hazen Scarth, Rick Carey and Rick St
Croix for their efforts and enthusiasm during our tour!
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Contact
Mark Kirwin jmkirwin@xplornet.com
Gord Green gord.green@ontariosoilcrop.org
Cathy Dibble cathy.dibble@ontariosoilcrop.org
www.ontariosoilcrop.org
www.oxfordscia.wordpress.com
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