Robert Anderson and Jill Ebbett, New Brunswick potato farmers, named Atlantic’s 2018 Outstanding Young Farmers

Apr 23, 2018

Truro, NS – Atlantic hospitality and comradery were on full display in Truro NS on April 12-14 as fifth generation potato farmers, Robert Anderson & Jill Ebbett of East Glassville, NB were named Atlantic’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2018.

Robert assumed management responsibilities of the farm in 2000 after returning from a year at college. The farm is known for its high quality Elite Seed Potatoes by customers internationally, and for its outstanding soybean, and grain crops locally.

The farm is managed with environmental stewardship always in mind. Land is carefully terraced and drain tiled to help control erosion. Three thousand acres of woodlands are reforested and soil health is managed by plowing lands uphill!

The farm’s business goals and plans are developed to promote the operation as a leader in technological advancements that will provide higher per acre yields, better soil health, the latest growing techniques, and the optimization of fertilizer and crop inputs. Their ultimate management plan allows them to spend more time managing the business, and less time working in the business.

Robert is active in local organizations, with his main focus being on the NB Potato Technology Initiative board. Jill works full-time at McCain Foods as the Manager for Customer Service for Canada and International Offices. Their main focus is their four daughters so evenings and weekends are spent doing family activities, while having supper as a family as many nights as possible, is key.

“Location, location, location! This year’s Atlantic OYF winners use their isolation, and higher elevation from the main potato growing area of New Brunswick to produce top quality seed potatoes; Yet they are still close enough to the potato growing regions of Atlantic Canada to have a large market at their doorstep”, stated Vice President of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmer Program, Steve Cooper.

Celebrating 38 years, Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers’ program is an annual competition to recognize farmers that exemplify excellence in their profession and promote the tremendous contribution of agriculture. Open to participants 18 to 39 years of age, making the majority of income from on-farm sources, participants are selected from seven regions across Canada, with two national winners chosen each year. The program is sponsored nationally by CIBC, John Deere, Bayer, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through Growing Forward 2, a federal, provincial, territorial initiative. The national media sponsor is Annex Business Media, and the program is supported nationally by AdFarm, BDO and Farm Management Canada.

Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2018 will be chosen at the National Event in Winnipeg, MB from November 29 – December 3, 2018..

Source : Canada's Outstanding Young Farmer's Program

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.