Canadian Organic Standards 2020 Review

Mar 29, 2019

The Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) Committee on Organic Agriculture, or “Technical Committee” (TC) met in Ottawa, March 19-21, 2019 as part of its regular 5-year, cyclical review of the Canadian Organic Standards (COS).

CHC continues to participate in several Task Force and Working Groups, organized by the Organic Federation of Canada (OFC), which have been meeting via conference call throughout the winter to discuss various petitions and make recommendations to the Technical Committee.

The March TC meetings discussed several proposals important to horticultural growers, namely:

Seed and Planting Stock, and Seed treatment;
Sprouts, Shoots and Microgreens;
Protected Crop Structures and Containers (previously known as Greenhouse Crops), and;
100% Artificial Lighting

The review process will include a public consultation expected in Spring, 2019.

The Canadian Organic Standards are the backbone of the growing domestic and export-oriented organic industry. Starting January 15, 2019, the original reference in Canada’s Organic Products Regulations, 2009, was replaced by Part 13 of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations.

Source : hortcouncil.ca

Video: New colours and more durability for Case IH RB6 round balers

Farmers will see a new look and more efficiency and durability from Case IH's RB6 Series variable chamber round balers for model year 2026. In this report from the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois, Case livestock product specialist Brian Williams notes that the first thing farmers will notice is a new colour scheme. "For the tailgate, the frame, and also the pickup, we've changed to our Case IH red colour. One of the really nice things about changing that colour scheme is that you're able to see that crop flowing into the baler much better from the tractor." There's also changes to the pickup with the addition of a second roller. "On the 566 model, you can get it with the double windrower roller," says Williams. "For our customers that are baling corn stalks or large windrows, it helps to push that windrow down to let that feed into the chamber, so that they're able to bale a little bit faster, because everyone's looking for better efficiency." There are also modifications to the rollers in the bale chamber — the stripper roll and the fixed roll have been combined into a one-piece roller. "There's no welds on those rollers, so the dependability is going to be far greater than our previous model," adds Williams.