Dr. Jill Clapperton

Earthworms are the glue that hold our soil together, says Dr. Jill Clapperton. Clapperton, a soil consultant from Montana, U.S.A., spoke at the 2010 Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario conference held in London in February. She spoke about soil health and crop residue, stressing the importance of earthworms in mixing the soil and calling them “ecosystem engineers.” “[Earthworms] are nature’s plow,” says Clapperton. They work to distribute nutrients all the way down to the rooting zone. Clapperton adds soil organic matter is the primary food source for earthworms, thus making soil organic matter very important in the whole soil profile. Clapperton is a proponent of no-till practices; she says no-till practices increase the number of soil organisms found in a profile.

For more information from Clapperton, check out her presentation on the IFAO website.

Michele Payn-Knoper speaks out in this week’s Ontario Farmer about the need for farmers to get on-board with using social networking media such as Twitter and Facebook. Payn Knoper says organizations like the Humane Society of the United States, PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) and Greenpeace have many followers on Twitter. She believes it is important to increase the number of farmers and farm organization on Twitter. Twitter can be used to send out information, counter false information and direct people to the organizations’ websites for more information. The articles states, “If farmers don’t get with it, ‘activists will define our future for us’, [Payn-Knoper] said.”

I strongly agree with Payn-Knoper about the need for agricultural organizations to be using social networking media to get their messages out. I would never have considered blogging about agriculture if it was not required for one of my courses at the University of Guelph. However, I am beginning to realize many people will read our class’ blogs and will have their eyes opened to certain aspects of agriculture. We are living in an era where people look for a lot of information online; it is important for farmers and agricultural organizations to move forward in this area to continue educating consumers.  

Doug Goff, a professor in the department of food science at the University of Guelph, is trying to find ways to get more fibre into the diets of consumers. Goff says the average Canadian consumer is only consuming half the recommended daily dietary intake of fibre. Goff’s research involves enriching dairy products with two fibres derived from the by-products of soy and flax seed. Thickened dairy products, such as milk shakes or low fat ice cream, are ideal carriers for the fibres, says Goff.

“We think that dairy products will make a very good carrier for fibre,” says Goff. “We think there should be a big demand for these types of products and that food processors, and dairy processors in particular, should be able to develop products that will help to cater to that demand.”

Goff has found these fibres can be incorporated into dairy products as high as 3, 4 or 5 per cent without affecting taste. Health benefits of these fibres include reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

Milk products provide many health benefits and, if dietary fibre can be added, they will become a better source of nutrients for consumers. To find out more about the research, watch the video found at Farms.com.

An editorial in Tuesday’s Ontario Farmer addresses the issue of farmers drinking raw milk. The author, Paul Mahon, says there is a contradiction in the dairy industry as farmers are permitted to drink their own raw milk, but they aren’t permitted to sell raw milk to consumers. There has been controversy concerning the sale of raw milk for years and it seems the debate is not over. Mahon says, “If there are people who believe that unpasteurised milk is for them, they should be able to legally get it for themselves.” In some aspects, I agree since my family drinks raw milk from our farm and no one in my family has ever gotten sick from drinking raw milk. In fact, twenty-four years ago when my oldest brother was a baby, my mom asked the doctor if she should pasteurize the milk for him. The doctor said she should pasteurize milk for him until he was a year old and then he could drink raw milk. I think some doctors would say the same thing today. However, if people are getting sick from the consumption of raw milk, then it makes sense to ban it. It seems there is not sufficient evidence to fully support either side of the argument; the mystery of pasteurized versus unpasteurized milk remains for now.

The clip below, from the UW Radio show with Mark McAfee in April 2009, presents a benefit of raw milk. 

AgCanada.com reports Walmart Canada is following in the footsteps of its U.S. parent in creating a “sustainable product index.” The index will include all aspects of production, from raw materials to the recyclability of products. Walmart says the index will be a simple and convenient rating system, making it easy for consumers to see the information. Although Walmart Canada does not yet know what the rating system will look like, they say it will likely be on a numeric scale, colour-coded or some type of label.

I think this is a step in the right direction and it will certainly not be long before other companies begin to mark their products with sustainable labels as well. It is time for farmers to be recognized for their efforts to be more sustainable. And for farmers who are not practicing sustainable practices, this is a push to make a move towards doing so. With the current trend towards environmentally sustainable practices, it is fair for consumers to expect all products to be labelled. Farmers need to be ready to improve their environmental practices so they can meet the needs of their consumers.

I begin my approach to blogging by reading news articles and keeping informed about agricultural events. In doing so, I gather lots of information to write my blog on. When it comes time to write my blog, I search for an article, blog, or website I can get information from to gather more details on my topic. I begin by summarizing main points of the article, or highlighting key features. I often name key researchers or speakers mentioned in the article. Next, I add a bit of my opinion on the subject. To end the blog, I link readers to the original article for more information. Before posting my blog, I add a picture or a video to grab the reader’s attention.

The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) at the University of Guelph has partnered with the Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario (IFAO) to send two student reporters to the IFAO conference. The conference takes place February 17th-18th at the Best Western Lamplighter Inn in London, ON. The conference features two days of speakers on the theme of “Taking Care of Soil, Farm and Life.” Today, I read a pre-conference article written by the two reporters published in the Eastern Ontario Farmer. Since I am one of the student reporters, I was very excited to see my article in such an important Ontario agricultural newspaper. I am enthusiastic about the conference next week, and I can’t wait to meet the speakers and attendees. My participation in this conference is a great chance for me to improve my writing skills and network with industry leaders. It is great that the OAC can partner with other associations to help students get the best out of their learning experience.   

To learn more about the conference, go to the IFAO website.

Animal scientist Katrina Merkies working with a horse at Kemptville College

The University of Guelph is home to the Ontario Agricultural College and much of the research that takes place in the college. However, one must not forget the contributions of Guelph’s satellite campuses: Alfred, Ridgetown, and Kemptville. Last month, Kemptville College was recognized in the Ottawa Citizen for a new program they will be offering in the spring. The program, Leadership Through Equine-Assisted Personal Discovery (LEAD), will be aimed at helping youth develop leadership skills through use of body language while working with the horses. Professor Katrina Merkies at the Kemptville campus, hopes to one day expand the program to abuse survivors and children suffering from attention deficit disorder. Merkies also hopes to research the effectiveness of equine therapy through the new program.

Read the whole story in the Ottawa Citizen, titled Looking to horses to learn a bit about ourselves.

By now, many of us have heard the story about frozen desserts, which mimic ice cream. These frozen desserts are oil-based rather than dairy fat-based. Some companies, such as Chapman’s, adopted a 100 per cent Canadian milk campaign for their products in order to promote “real” ice cream. In addition to frozen desserts, consumers are now being warned by the Dairy Farmers of Ontario to look out for chocolate beverages. These chocolate drinks are similar to chocolate milk, but use modified milk ingredients rather than milk. Researchers at the University of Guelph say milk content in these drinks is as low as 51 per cent. Consumers beware: read the ingredients to be sure you know what you are drinking.  

The January issue of The Milk Producer reports the story.

Dairy Farming Today is an American website that provides information to consumers about the dairy industry. One key feature of the site is a number of videos allowing consumers to take a virtual tour of a dairy farm; the videos break the farm down into areas such as the calving pen and the milking parlour. The videos are informative and they address issues that are of concern to consumers. The tour of the milk tank room highlights the rigorous milk testing that occurs before milk reaches consumers. At the end of the tour there is an interactive game which emphasizes the steps taken during the milking process to ensure clean milk. The game also draws attention to the quality check-points in the process of taking the milk from the farm to the consumer. What a great learning tool for consumers. Where are the Canadian virtual farm tours?

Below is the virtual farm tour of virtual farm tour of the milking parlour: