Ear tag fundraiser; Money for marsh; Swine health; Day for safety
Ear tag fundraiser
Ketchum Manufacturing Inc. and the Canadian 4-H Council recently announced that more than $6,000 was raised last year for the 4-H program through the sales of Ketchum Reyflex CCIA/NLID cattle ear tags sold in Canada.
Ketchum donates a portion of all ear tag sales to the provincial 4-H program in which the product was sold. To date, the Brockville-based company has raised more than $52,000 for the 4-H program in Canada.
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The fundraising program was launched in 2000. A portion of ear tag sales is donated to provincial 4-H agencies, while other funding goes to the Canadian 4-H Council for national programming.
Recently, the Canadian 4-H Council also added the ear tags to its on-line store to help increase fundraising opportunities.
Ketchum Manufacturing Inc. makes tags for animal identification, seafood and aquaculture, food merchandising and hospitality, marketing and promotions.
Money for marsh
Monsanto Canada recently presented Ducks Unlimited Canada with $71,000 to expand its Wetland Centres of Excellence education program for schools in the Pembina Trails School Division, as well as two additional schools at new sites in Virden, Man., and in Yorkton, Sask.
The Yorkton site for the program is being provided by Richardson International.
Located just south of Winnipeg, Kelburn Farm, operated by Richardson’s, is the site used by Pembina Trails. With the new funding, DUC will be able to expand its education awareness to students who use the natural wetlands at Kelburn as an enrichment study site and an outdoor classroom.
“The program has been of great value in teaching our students about the real business of agriculture and getting them excited about science and environmental studies,” said Bob Adamson in a news release. He has been the lead teacher for Pembina Trails in the program since its inception three years ago.
Another key component is a mentoring program for Grade 4 students. Experienced high school students lead classes on wetland field trips at Kelburn, teaching them about wetlands, conservation and sustainability.
The Monsanto funds will underwrite the cost of wetland field trips over the next five years at all three sites and provide the two new sites.
While these sites provide authentic outdoor learning opportunities for children, the Kelburn and Yorkton sites, plus another Virden, Man., area location provided by Tundra Oil & Gas Partnership, are also being developed as Sustainable Land Use Centres, serving as extension-education centres for farmers and other local groups.
Additional funding recently provided by the Richardson Foundation to DUC is being used to outfit the sites with beneficial management practices.
These practices will show how profitable business ventures, like commercial agriculture and resource extraction, can be complementary to maintaining healthy habitats for wildlife and people.
Swine health
Robert Harding has been named the inaugural executive director of the newly formed Canadian Swine Health Board.
The executive director will be responsible for leading the operation and strategic direction of the CSHB and will report to the organization’s eight-member board of directors.
Harding has more than 20 years of senior management experience, with a background in provincial, national and international issues.
He also has experience with the pork industry as executive director of the PEI Hog Commodity Marketing Board and as a director with Canada Pork International.
The CSHB was formed to address swine health.
Day for safety
People who want to host a community safety day in 2010 must submit applications by July 15, 2009.
Each Progressive Agriculture Safety Day in Canada is organized locally. Children rotate among different safety stations, allowing each child the opportunity to participate in interactive and engaging activities.
In 2008, 45 Safety Days were held in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick involving almost 10,000 youth and more than 1,600 adult volunteers. In 2009, 78 Safety Days are planned.
The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association supports Progressive Agriculture Safety Day in Canada.
Founded by The Progressive Farmer magazine in the United States in 1995, the program trains and provides the resources that local communities need to conduct one-day safety programs that are age-appropriate, hands-on, fun and safe for children.
While the basic program reaches children ages of 8 to 13, safety days may also be conducted for 4- to 7-year-olds or entire families.
To apply, go to the Progressive Agriculture Safety Day section at www.casa-acsa.ca.
