7 www.SmallFarmCanada.ca FIT TO EAT Newfoundland and Labrador should be at the forefront of food production integrated into municipalities. What, with the stories of the past and all. But that isn’t quite the case. At the same time as some of our small hamlets are denying simple self-provisioning actions, large cities like Paris and New York and Beijing and Reykjavik have extensive food production areas – not necessarily commercial – but which provide local food security. How did this happen? ‘ Today we have the second of two episodes with Nicholas Fairbridge, a researcher who works out of the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University in St. John’s. He is also very interested in the relationships among community health, local food production and municipal policy. In his spare time, he has actually read all of the related development regulations of all the municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador. We start out with the seeming conflict between urban areas and food production...’ Source: Ivan Emke, Kitchen Table Communications IGNATIUS NEW FARMER TRAINING – PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN! Due to tight funding timelines, Term 1 of the Ignatius Farm New Farmer Training Program will not be held live in 2025. However, the webinar recordings and course resources from last year are available on a pay-what-you-can basis! Access all sessions from Term 1 of the 2024 program and learn at your own pace. The Term 1 recording bundle includes access to the following webinar recordings: • Introduction to Organic Growing • The Language of Ecological Agriculture • Botany for Farmers & Gardeners • Identifying & Controlling Insect Pests • Introduction to Seedling Production & Greenhouse Management • Farm Workers’ Rights & Responsibilities • Introduction to Soil Health Source: Ignatius Farm TAKEAWAY: TRIAL, ERROR & ADAPTATION The Living Lab Central Prairies is part of the Agricultural Climate Solution Program and integrates on-farm practices with research knowledge focusing on preventing land conversion, managing grazing, promoting perennials and polycrops. The practice of using polycrops, AKA cover crops/forage mixtures/forage cocktails, is to increase the diversity of plant species in a pasture. Increased plant diversity can enhance soil health, increase water infiltration, reduce fertilizer needs and provide higher quality forages for cattle. One objective of the Living Lab Central Prairies has been growing polycrops on farm to evaluate both the long- and short-term impacts. Saskatchewan beef producer John Griffin’s experience echoes the broader sentiment among producers: polycrops can be an excellent tool, but their success is highly dependent on weather, species selection and management practices. Source: www.beefresearch.ca THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE Canada regulates the importation and domestic movement of grapevines for propagation or decorative use as fresh cut vines from all origins to mitigate the risk of entry and establishment of plant pests. Importation of propagative grapevine material is permitted only from sources with CFIA-accepted virus certification programs in place to ensure that grapevine propagative material imported into Canada is free of pests regulated by the CFIA. Domestic movement into British Columbia of grapevine materials must also be certified prior to shipping. The list of CFIA-accepted virus certification for Vitis spp., can be found in Appendix 1 (United States) and Appendix 2 (Europe). All countries or U.S. states wishing to export certified Vitis spp., material to Canada must provide CFIA with detailed information for review, as outlined in Section 6.0. Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency WANT MORE SMALL FARM CANADA NEWS? VISIT WWW.SMALLFARMCANADA.CA! TOP RIGHT: NUTT - ADOBE STOCK
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