Vol. 27 No. 04 May 2015

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Council of Leaders Highlights

Council of Leaders recently met on April 15th in Truro. The meeting was well attended with 35 people around the ta-ble.

The President of the Federation opened up the meeting with remarks highlighting recent issues and outcomes of meetings that were held since the last Council meeting. The snow damage this winter has been extensive and wide spread. Reported thus far, there is over $8.5 million dollars in damage caused by snow this winter. NSFA is working in cooperation with government in hopes of financial support for farmers who faced snow damage. The Dead Stock Col-lection Program in Central Region has been put on hold as NSFA tries to find someone to fill the business opportunity. The Wildlife Committee had a meeting with Ministers of Agriculture and Natural Resources to discuss matters relat-ed to both departments and how they are affecting farms.

The meeting continued on with reports and updates. Fol-lowing the financial report, a discussion was had on NSFA providing more money to the scholarship fund at Dalhou-sie Faculty of Agriculture. It was emphasized that any scholarship from NSFA should only go to students who are studying at the Agriculture Campus. It was recommended by Executive and Approved by council that Affiliated Com-modities and Regional Federations would be approached to provide financial contributions. Any funds raised will be matched by NSFA up to $12,500.

The Council meeting also had three special presentations. Farm Safety Nova Scotia conducted a Needs Assessment to determine what Nova Scotia farmers need from their provincial Farm Safety Organization. The information col-lected from the Needs Assessments will be used to steer the activities of FSNS. Isaac Muise, a graduate student at Dalhousie School for Resource Management provided an update on the survey he conducted last summer and his research thus far. Isaac also presented the recommenda-tions he is planning to make on a farm plastics recycling

program in Nova Scotia to RRFB and asked for feedback from Council to ensure that what he presented will be ap-propriate for farm operations. The feedback lead to much discussion around the issues farms are facing when dispos-ing of farm plastic waste. Rounding out the presentations was a presentation from NSDA Programs Division. A major highlight from this presentation was the addition of wild-life fencing to the Homegrown Success Program. Details on this specific pillar were not yet available for the meeting, but the information can now be found at novascotia.ca/agri/programs-and-services under Homegrown Success.

Following these presentations, regular business resumed and a new Agriculture Awareness Committee Member was approved. Geneve Newcombe, who sat two terms on the Nova Scotia Agriculture Awareness Committee, leaves the committee as co-chair. To fill the vacancy, Council ap-proved Barb Dyck, a retired educator and current co-owner of Apples and Spice with her husband Lloyd.

Next Council of Leaders meeting will be in September.

Grower of the YearNova Scotia Federation of Agriculture would like to con-gratulate Andy Vermeulen on receiving Loblaw’s Atlantic Grower of the Year Award for 2015. Andy, who operates

Vermeulen Farms in Can-ning, received the award on April 10th at the Lob-law’s Growers Confer-ence in Charlottetown, PEI.

At left, Andy is seen receiv-ing his award from Frank Spagnuolo, Senior Category Director, Loblaw Compa-nies Limited.

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Henry VissersExecutive Director, Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture

As we finally move into spring it is time to finish some observations from the fall and winter. The NSFA AGM is far behind us but there have been a few comments lately on the speakers we had at the meeting. Don Mills’ presentation on the state of the Nova Scotia economy and the much touted Ivany report seems to have resonated with many people. Al-though his reflections can be taken as negative - slow growth, aging popula-tion and the elephant in the room a 15 Billion dollar net debt - all is not lost. We must reflect on our situation before we can change it.

Dr. Joe Schwarcz brought his perspective as a professor at McGill and as a chem-ist. Not everyone liked what he had to say but isn’t that the point of bringing in a speaker? Our role is to challenge the audience and ask the questions that help us reflect on our beliefs and reason-ing. I thought he did a pretty good job of balancing science and marketing. He targeted Dr. Oz and Vani Hari AKA “Food Babe” in parts of his presentation as not being credible in their claims. We have been accused of bringing Dr Schwarcz in to “preach to the choir”. Preaching to the choir indeed - NSFA promoted Dr Shiva in our e-news and participated with a trade show booth at the ACORN conference. Our goal is to support healthy dialogue and divergent opin-ions. The NSFA AGM should be a forum for debate and discussion and as such; not everything that is said there can or should be endorsed by the Federation.

The trade file seems to be opening up again. As I write this, the EU has dis-

mantled their Dairy Quota system and the US is in the process of giving President Obama Trade Promotion Authority, also known as fast track negotiating authority. The President needs to bring Democrats on board for the vote to pass congress and the senate. In the US, fast track ne-gotiating authority gives the President the ability to negotiate trade deals like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). Un-der fast track, US congress and Senate can only vote yes or no to any deal that comes before them - they cannot make amend-ments. As it stands, TPP is not likely to move forward without the US President having Fast Track Negotiating Authority.

The NSFA Joint Wildlife Committee met with the Ministers of Agriculture and Natural Resources in early April. At this meeting, Minister Colwell agreed to pro-vide support through Homegrown Suc-cess for protection from wildlife. The pro-tection will include fencing and netting projects that meet specific criteria. Since the meeting, we have been told that the Homegrown Success application dead-line is extended to May 15th for fencing project only since this is a late addition to the program. The Wildlife Committee is very pleased with the progress over the past 3 years. The collaboration with the Federation and the two departments has been beneficial for all in terms of policy and program changes and understanding the dynamics that each organization work under.

Finally a few words about the budgets - Provincial and Federal. As was mentioned in the e-news, the creation of the new De-partment of Business is a major change. This department. will focus on three Stra-tegic areas:

Food Babe and Other Observations

continued on page 3

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• Business Strategy and Planning• Strategic Projects and Investments• Operational Leadership, Co-ordination and Alignment

The numbers in the Department of Agriculture budget look very close to last year although the changes of departments for staff means that Inspectors for food, meat, animal wel-fare, bee and mink (approximately 45 staff) will move from Agriculture to a new division in the Department of Environ-ment. These inspectors will join about another 50 Inspec-tors from other resource Departments.

Currently, the Department of Agriculture has a budget of ~$60 Million. This $60 million covers wages and overhead for the 45 inspectors to be moved, and $20 million in fund-

Viewpoint continueding for Dal AC. The remaining budget of ~$35 million is go-ing to look pretty small in future years!

The federal government also released its latest budget on April 22. For farmers the budget has an increase in the life-time capital gains exemption for owners of farm and fishing businesses to $1 million, from $800,000. The small busi-ness tax rate was decreased from 11% to 9%. This is a signifi-cant decline in tax rates for small businesses. There are also additional investments made into small business financing.

Wishing you all a safe and productive spring.

Comments?hvissers@nsfa-fane.ca

The 2015 winter season caused significant damage in the Agriculture Industry. Damage from snow was wide spread across the province from Yarmouth to Cape Breton and cov-ered a cross section of the Industry’s commodities.Though most of the reports were able to provide an esti-mate for the damage, 13 were not. BarnsThe majority of the reports indicated damage to livestock and equipment barns. The costs of damage were broad as reports varied from weak trusses that need replacement to full building collapses. Barn structure damage caused inju-ries or mortalities to livestock, damaged equipment or con-taminated feed. There were 34 barns reported plus an ad-ditional 8 animal reports. Within the animal losses reports, there were 48 mink, over 50,000 chickens, 7 sheep and 20 cows reported. GreenhousesGreenhouses have seen significant losses as well. Though total acreage isn’t able to be calculated, there have been 12 reports of greenhouse structure damage. Many of these greenhouses either lost nursery supply or no longer have space to put their nursery supply. This means that they will not have ample stocks (or any stocks in some cases) to sell during the upcoming season.Maple ProducersWhile many crops are waiting for the summer months to determine their crop losses, Maple Producers are trying to get into the full swing of things. Mainlines and lateral lines are under the snow. Producers have been working for

weeks shoveling out these lines, but another snow storm comes along and buries the lines once again. Though pro-ducers are diligent and dig out their lines as soon as it is safe to do so, the pressure from the snow causes damage to the lines and the fittings. If the fittings aren’t properly repaired, leaks are inevitable and will cause difficulties in the years to come. Maintenance on the sap collection system and tap-ping the trees is normally a big expense (mainly labour and time). This year, however, the cost is expected to be at least five times greater than a regular season. When the harvest season does begin, there will be sap lost and production will be lower than it should be.HorticultureMost reports coming from fruit growers (blueberries, ap-ples, etc.) do not have a dollar value yet available to accom-pany them. Physical reports indicate complete plant burial and broken branches.Progress Update (April 2015)Considering the extensive damage that has occurred across the Agriculture Industry in Nova Scotia, NSFA has requested government support for farmers to assist with their losses.A request to trigger the Disaster Financial Assistance Ar-rangement (DFAA) and AgriRecovery has been made to government. The DFAA program doesn’t work because the losses are considered to be insurable. Federation has also been informed that AgriRecovery has to be a single event (i.e. flood). Multiple snow storms do not qualify although a request to reconsider has been made. The Federation con-tinues to explore options.

Snow Damage on NS Farms

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Farmers have been traveling on the roads with trac-tors for years but traffic has gotten much heavier and people often seem to be in a rush, increasing the risks when traveling on public roads with farm equipment. Spring time is a great time to review safety procedures and regulations before hitting the road for another busy, productive cropping season.

General Tractor Safety1. Make sure your tractor is equipped with proper safety guards and devices. Check equipment (e.g. hy-draulics, tires, and lights) before leaving. 2. Tractors manufactured after 1974 must be equipped with a roll-over protective structure (ROPS) and a seatbelt, which must be worn at all times.3. Lock tractor brakes together when traveling on the road. 4. Always travel on the road, never the shoulder. When safe, pull off the road to allow vehicles to pass. 5. When towing implements, be sure to use proper hitching techniques. All implements should be locked in the “travel” position when on public roads. 6. All loads must be secured.

Warning Light and Signage Requirements• Slow moving vehicle signs must be on the back of the following: o Farm tractors o Trailers and equipment being towed by farm tractorsVehicles and equipment displaying a slow-moving ve-hicle sign must NOT travel faster than 40km/hr.

• When traveling with wide equipment: o Wider than 2.6m (8’6”), put fluores cent flags or flashing lights on the sides AND an amber warning light on the top. o Wider than 4.3m (14’), use a pilot vehi cle.

• When traveling with long equipment: o More than 7.5m (24’6”) long, must have a white marker light or reflector on both sides. o A Combination of vehicles that is more than 6m (20’) long, must have white marker lights or reflectors on both sides, every 6m.

Road Safety Campaign

What you need to tow certain vehiclesWhat license you need What you can tow Total vehicle weight

Class 3 4500kg or Less 14000 kg or moreClass 3 + Condition 15 more than 4500 kg 14000 kg or moreClass 5 license 4500 kg or less 14000 kg or lessClass 5 + Condition 15 Up to 14000 kg minus the weight

of towing vehicle14000 kg or less

Class 8 Nothing 14000 kg or lessClass 8 + passed tractor safety course

Up to 14000 kg minus the weight of towing vehicle

14000 kg or less

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Meet Your Executive - Jim BaillieSince 1992, Jim and Brenda Baillie have been able to call themselves farmers. They built their farm from the ground up starting with field crops. Today, Jim and Brenda grow 150 acres of Wild Blueberries in the hills around Tatama-gouche and 50 acres of field crops and pedigree seed crop.

Jim has always been ac-tively involved in the agriculture and forestry indus-tries. From a general agriculture perspective, Jim is a Member at Large of NSFA. Jim also sits on the Cana-dian Seed Growers Association’s board as Past Presi-dent. CSGA, for short, sets standards for seed grade in Canada, represents 3,500 seed growers nationally and is responsible for certifying pedigree seed.

Jim’s other involvement in the Agriculture Industry is closer to home. He is a Member at Large on the Pic-tou North Colchester Federation of Agriculture and the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia boards and also chairs the Wild Blueberries’ Sustaina-bility Committee. Jim enjoys his time on both of these boards because both of these organizations address different, but relevant issues in the agriculture indus-

try of Nova Scotia.

For Jim, being involved in agricultural organizations is important. From his experience, he sees that a well-rounded, long-standing, respectful organization will be better received in discussion with government offi-cials. Jim believes in the work that the Federation does to represent all commodities, regions and farms across Nova Scotia.

Outside of agriculture, Jim was actively involved in his church as Chair, however, like many other churches in rural communities, with population decline in rural Nova Scotia, churches can’t afford nor justify to stay open. Agriculture in Nova Scotia faces many issues. For Jim, wildlife is the one issue he feels directly impacts his commodities most. “Deer and bear pressure is ever growing and will continue to do so until we find a way to stop or significantly reduce damage to our crops,” says Jim, who is also involved in NSFA’s Wildlife Com-mittee.

Jim is keen to learn and understand all of the issues that affect agriculture in Nova Scotia and also willing to bring the issues of his commodity and region forward to be addressed by the Federation. He encourages any NSFA Member with issues or concerns to get in touch with an Executive or Council Member to have their voice heard.

Open Farm Day!September 20, 2015

Registration forms are now available for Open Farm Day at

nsfa-fane.ca/openfarmday

Any questions can be directed to Maxine at (902) 893-2293

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The Environmental Farm Plan Program has been in-volved in many projects involving farms and the environment. Topics often focus on water and waste.

Most recently, you may have noticed more projects fo-cusing on wildlife.

In the summer of 2014, a survey was sent out to 600 NSFA Members to determine what species farmers consider a nuisance. More details of this survey can be found in the December 2014 edition of News and Views. Another deliverable in the same project fund-ing saw the development of the BioLOG (Biodiversity Land Owners Guide) site. This site was initially devel-oped to assist farmers who wish to incorporate biodi-versity on their farms and what to do in the case of a

Biodiversity Land Owners Guide - BioLOGnuisance problem.

During the months of February and March of this year, there have been updates made to the BioLOG site. The site now identifies species at risk and the practic-es farmers can use to protect and provide habitat for these species on their farm land. Categories of spe-cies at risk include birds, aquatic species, bats, insects, reptiles and trees. Each category identifies species and the specific practices that can be adopted on to farms to protect the respective species. The site also goes on to define the five status categories used to categorize species at risk.

If you are interested in incorporating practices to pro-tect species at risk, or find out more on the BioLOG, check out nsfa-fane.ca/biolog.

Recycling Pilot Project Extended

Colchester County Silage Plastic Recycling Pilot Project Has Been Extended to June 30th

In order to ensure that all farmers in Colchester Coun-ty have the opportunity to take advantage of the no-fee disposal of used silage plastic, much of which has been covered with snow, the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) has extended the pilot project to June 30th, 2015. Take your “clean” used silage plastic to the MRF at the Kemptown Balefill between 8am and 4pm. Be sure to tell the scale operator that you are participating in the “Silage Plastic Recycling Pilot”.

For more information contact Jann McFarlane at (902)897-0450 ext. 101 or email: jmcfarlane@colchester.ca.

Accepting Nominations!

Nominated yourself or farm for the

Environmental Stewardship Award

Chance to win a painting of the farm and a cash prize of $2,000 for activities that further enhance stewardship efforts

Information on award eligible and application forms, visit the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture website at:

www.nsfa-fane.ca/efp

Deadline for applications are June 30, 2015

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Growing the Agriculture Industry in NSBy Emma Geldart

In addition to growing and harvesting crops, there is one very important part of agricul-ture that helps the industry to thrive- marketing.

Dr. Simon Somogyi, an Associate Professor of Business at the Faculty of Agriculture, focuses his research on agribusiness marketing. Originally from Adelaide, Aus-tralia, Dr. Somogyi’s research looks at linking growers and their products with specific high value markets.

“My re-s e a r c h is about i n c r e a s -ing agri-b u s i n e s s i n c o m e throughout the chain, from input s u p p l i e r and farmer to retailer,” Dr. Som-

ogyi explains. “I think agriculture needs more of this.”

Dr. Somogyi’s research takes two forms- value chain management mainly in horticulture industries and wine business. Dr. Somogyi explains that value chain management research and development is about link-ing everyone in the chain with higher value markets, especially growers. He has been working on this for about five years. Wine business research is about link-ing wineries with new consumers and serving their current ones better. With a Bachelor of Wine Market-ing and his PhD from the University of Adelaide, he has been working on wine business research for about 11 years. For his PhD, Dr. Somogyi developed a model of communication between grape growers and wineries.

“I love seeing agribusinesses become more success-ful,” he explains.

Dr. Somogyi begins his value chain research by mapping the chain from where the product be-gins to where it ends up. He looks at how products flow through the chain from inputs and genetics to retail and finally, to the consumer. He conducts consumer research as well to understand what consumers want. He then looks at how consumer infor-mation flows back up the chain from retailer to farmer.

“The relationships between all members of the chain are analyzed,” Dr. Somogyi explains. “We particularly want to understand the lev-el of trust between members of the chain.”

For wine businesses, much of his research has been about understanding consumers to help serve them better.

“If we understand them better we generate more in-come for the business,” he explains.

Dr. Somogyi’s research has a major impact on the agriculture industry. He explains that in 2012, he performed a value chain research project for broc-coli exported from Australia to Singapore. The project focused on understanding costs, relationships be-tween members, market specification particularly at the Singapore end, and establishing retailer and importer contacts. As a result of the study, the grow-ers and importers were planting and exporting 40-50% more broccoli and receiving a 20-30% higher return than their traditional domestic retail markets. “The study ended with more income for everyone in the chain,” Dr. Somogyi explains. Dr. Somogyi hopes he can help produce these kinds of results in Nova Scotia.

“I hope to do more value chain projects for busi-nesses in Nova Scotian agri-food chains,” he ex-plains. “I believe this province has high quality, high value agri-food products that can get a premium price in premium markets. We can take what we cur-rently produce and find higher value markets for it. In other words, let’s grow the agriculture indus-try in Nova Scotia by creating more value chains.”

Dr. Simon Somogyi

NSFA News & Views is the Newsletter of the NS Federation of Agriculture, the United, Strong & Caring Farm Organization repre-senting the best interest of Nova Scotia’s Agricultural Industry.

News & Views is provided free of charge to its members. We value comments and concerns from our members, please direct them to Executive members or the Office Staff.

2015 Executive Members:President: Chris van den Heuvel Phone: 631-18841st Vice President: Kimberly Stokdijk Phone: 895-48172nd Vice President: Lloyd Dyck Phone: 538-3083CFA Director: Victor Oulton Phone: 798-4440At Large: John Quinn Phone: 783-2834At Large: Amanda Eisses Phone: 662-3811At Large: Jim Baillie Phone: 657-2256At Large: Victor Oulton Phone: 798-4440Past President: Dennis Boudreau Phone: 769-3501

Staff: Executive Director: Henry Vissers; Associate Director: Wanda Hamilton; Financial Services Coordinator: Krista Vroegh; Administrative Services Coordinator: Shelly MacKenzie; Communication & Research Coordinator: Maxine MacLean; Farm Safety Coordinator, Carolyn Van Den Heuvel, EFP Staff, Kathryn Bremner, Paul Brenton, Trevor Davison, Jillian Saulnier and Cory Roberts

60 Research Drive, Perennia Innovation Park, Bible Hill, N.S.Ph: 893-2293 Fax: 893-7063Email: info@nsfa-fane.ca Website: www.nsfa-fane.ca

News & Views

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Workplace Education Closings

A workplace education course held recently in Amherst, entitled “Financial Management” took part in closing cel-ebrations with participants coming away with many new skills to put to practice in their farm offices.

A workplace education course held recently in Truro, en-titled “Financial Management” took part in closing cel-ebrations with participants saying “I wish I had taken this course sooner” as there were many useful skills learned.

Tractor Operator Safety CoursesAvailable Early Summer!

The Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) will be offering Tractor Operator Safety Courses in late-May early June. There will be a 1-day refresher course designed for those with some experience and a 2-day course for beginner operators. A few high-lights on the NSCC Tractor Operator Safety Courses:• Available province-wide• Open to all ages• Annual delivery• Certificates upon completion• Farm Safety Nova Scotia Member Discount!Course schedule, locations and fees available soon! Watch for more information at www.farmsafe-tyns.ca and in the NSFA eNewsletter. If you have any questions or are interested in a course please contact (902)893-2293 or info@farmsafetyns.ca.