Pea leaf weevil survey planned
Insect specialists at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry are seeking planted pea fields to survey north of Highway 1 and the Peace Region.
The team has begun its 2019 pea leaf weevil survey from the southern border of the province into the Peace Region and needs pea fields to survey.
Team members kneel on the field edge and count the number of feeding notches on each node of 50 plants.
Contact shelley.barkley@gov.ab.ca to have your pea field included in the survey.
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Other surveys underway include flea beetles, diamondback moth and cutworms.
Timely and accurate insect management information and resources can be found on the Alberta Insect Pest Monitoring Network website.
4-H scholarships seek recipients
The deadline to apply for the Elmer and Ona Hansen Memorial Fund is June 30.
The 4-H Foundation of Alberta is awarding 10 of the Memorial Fund Scholarships, worth $80,000.
The scholarship is designed to help rural farm youth, who must leave home to pursue a post-secondary education or trade.
The scholarships will be awarded as follows:
- one $20,000 scholarship
- one $15,000 scholarship
- one $10,000 scholarship
- seven scholarships at $5,000 each
Go to the 4-H Alberta website to register or contact 4-H Alberta at 780-422-4H4H (4444).
Ken Forth honoured
Ken Forth, president of Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services, recently received an honourary degree of doctor of laws from the University of Guelph for his contributions to agriculture.
As a longtime advocate for the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, Forth has had an impact on the Canadian fruit and vegetable industry, as well as thousands of families across Mexico and the Caribbean.
With leadership positions in numerous industry associations, Forth has helped develop labour legislation and regulations and ensured continued access to labour critical to Canada’s agricultural industry.
More information about Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program can be found at www.farmsontario.ca.
Organic sector receives funding
The federal government plans to invests $992,131 in the Canada Organic Trade Association to develop export and domestic market opportunities for organic food products, while continuing to build public trust for the “Canada Organic” brand.
The funding will help the Canada Organic Trade Association fund trade show booths in international trade shows, as well as facilitate incoming trade missions.
It will also provide technical assistance for Canada to establish organic equivalency agreements with trade partners, and the trade advocacy to promote the Canada Organic brand internationally.
As well, a 90-day public review on proposed revisions to the Canadian Organic Standards will begin this summer.
The review is carried out every five years to ensure production methodologies reflect current practices and technological advancements being employed by the organic industry.
Once finalized the updated standards will be published by the CGSB in the fall.
The government has also provided program support of about $300,000 to the Organic Federation of Canada to help improve the review of the standards and the sector’s sustainability.
