PEI ADAPT Agri-News

PEI ADAPT Agri-News Message

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:33:00 GMT

<DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><IMG src="http://peiadapt.com/adapt_logo.gif" align=right> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.6169" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </DIV> <DIV> PEI ADAPT Council Agri-Newsletter Vol. XI; No. 3; February 10, 2012   In This Issue: PEI ADAPT AGM & Conference âThe Future Face of Island Agricultureâ March 7-8 Canadian Agriculture Literacy Week, February 26 to March 3, 2012 Young Farmers Sprouting Up Everywhere Seeds For Young Farmers "Young Farmers" Land and Sea documentary PEI ADAPT AGM & Conference âThe Future Face of Island Agricultureâ March 7-8 Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island DRAFT February 10, 2012 Agenda Wednesday March 7, 2012 Annual General Business Meeting 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. and Reception: 7-9:30 p.m. With Guests; Dr. Av Singh, AgraPoint and Lucia Stephen, ACORN, âGrow a Farmerâ and the Atlantic premier of, âGrowâ (Winner BEST DOCUMENTARY â 2011 Rome International Film Festival; Conference Thursday March 8, 2012 âThe Future Face of Island Agricultureâ                                                                             Monique McTiernan, Atlantic Agriculture Leadership Program, âMoving Ideas into Actionâ                                                                             Jennifer Waugh-Campbell, New Generation Young Farmer âOur Island Family Farm                                                                             Dr. Av Singh, Agra-Point, âAdopting the Wisdoms of Global South Farmingâ                                                                             Jeff & Debra Moore, Co-Founders, Just Us Coffee Roasters Cooperative                                                                             PEI ADAPT Project Expo, Project Leaders on their projectâs Objectives, Outcomes and Impacts CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IS FREE and is open to anyone with an interest in the future of the Islandâs agricultural and agri-food production. However, pre-registration is necessary as space is limited. Please pre-register by calling: 902-368-2005 or by email: <A href="mailto:phil@peiadapt.com">phil@peiadapt.com</A> We look forward to seeing you there!   Canadian Agriculture Literacy Week, February 26 to March 3, 2012 Want to help convey the excitement of agriculture, stewardship and the love of the land to a new generation of future farmers? Agricultural readers are needed to meet the demand of the classes who want to participate. This is an excellent opportunity to educate youth about the importance of the agricultural industry! Please spread the word to your members or neighbors! For further information on what is expected of readers and how to sign up, contact <A href="mailto:calwpei@yahoo.ca">calwpei@yahoo.ca</A> or Wanda at 892-1091.   Young Farmers Sprouting Up Everywhere By Jared Pickard; <A href="http://civileats.com/2010/10/06/young-farmers-sprouting-up-across-the-nation/">www.civileats.com</A> In an attempt to explain what seems to be the seed of a cosmic shift in how farming is practiced and portrayed in America, I offer you my story: Iâm 26 years old, and after a three year stint working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and navigating the concrete jungle, I needed out. I was interested in much more than a career change. My mind, my body, my immune system, my belief system, my soul, my skin, and my fingertipsâevery piece of me began aching to evacuate the city immediately. Without any major physical ailments or health concerns to speak of, my ill feelings inspired me to reexamine what I, as a human being, truly needed to get by. All the things I felt I neededâfresh food raised naturally, exercising and sweating in the sun, getting dirt under my nails, breathing fresh air, walking on earth, feeling accomplished by my laborâthese very personal things I craved were being hustled, bustled, and trampled on by my own over-stimulated, under-satisfied, never-sleeping, big apple life. Exposed to organics, local farmers, and the flourishing Brooklyn farm-to-table restaurant scene, I had gotten a taste of what was possible and there was no turning back. I was hookedâsomething from deep inside me began to slowly bubble towards the surface. As I looked around meâwhether it be America as a whole, a particular state I was in, the strangers sitting across from me on public transit, or even my closest loved onesâIâve seen that we are becoming a sick people. Fat and obese people everywhere, widespread learning disabilities amongst children, and cancers riddling away entire family trees are now cultural norms. Finally there came a point in time (about a year ago to the day) when I refused to continue going along for the ride. There are wrongsâserious wrongsâbeing committed to our land, to our people, and to our freedoms on a daily basis at the grocery checkout counter. The expression "you are what you eat" is no old wivesâ tale, itâs pure truth. At any given second our cells are dying and new ones are being reproduced using whatever we put in our mouths. Do you want to replace your dead cells with nutrient dense vegetables and healthy, well-balanced animal fatsâor processed and packaged toxins? Organics pioneer, Sir Albert Howard, wrote in his 1943 book An Agricultural Testament, "artificial manures lead inevitably to artificial nutrition, artificial food, artificial animals, and finally artificial men and women." This cycle is an ever-worsening situation for our country, and it realizes an unholy amount of cash flow for the nationâs worst perpetrators against the public health and well-being. Young people everywhere are living with these effects first hand. The drastic changes, consolidations, short cuts, and widespread use of drugs and chemicals in conventional agriculture have all taken place right under our grandparentâs noses. Food did not used to be like this, and the older generation is our witness. While old timers can cheerfully reminisce about the days when they had chickens out back, or picked berries with their papa, people my age are first beginning to bear the true consequences of industrialized food. Young people can see it in their broken families, in their autistic sisters, and in their asthmatic cousins who survive on diets of fruity pebbles and Ritalin. We see it, and we want to change it. For the first time in many generations there is an uprising of young men and women stepping onto Americaâs fields, digging into earth, and making a sustainable and satisfying life for themselves. We are doing it not only because we want to, but because we need to. We are passionate, we are educated, and we are on a mission to heal our communities, our families, the land, and ourselves. And so, from Wall Street one day, to rural Georgia the next, I am currently farming under the tutelage of farmer/restaurateur Jason Mann. Through our vegetable wing, Full Moon Farms, and our pasture raised meat cooperative, Moonshine Meats, we feed the community through a successful community supported agriculture (CSA) program, as well as supplying Jasonâs two farm-AND-table restaurants that please both mouths as well as minds (Farm255 in Athens and Farm Burger in Decatur). Iâd like to close this post with a quote from a fellow young farmer, and good friend, that I think embodies the spirit of our movement. This was the closing to a farewell email he wrote on his departure from our Athens community: "It may not seem like it all the time, but our paths are both humble and righteous, and we cannot go wrong."   Seeds For Young Farmers By Brie Mazurek; <A href="http://www.civileats.com/">www.civileats.com</A> When Jesse Kuhn started Marin Roots Farm at age 28, he already had dirt under his fingernails. Heâd studied ag in college, managed a student farm, and worked as a landscaper. But when it came to succeeding financially in the farming business, he had a long way to go. "I was charging up my credit cards like crazy and bouncing balances back and forth," he says. "I almost had to declare bankruptcy during the first year." Almost 10 years and many lessons later, Marin Roots is a well-established organic specialty produce business. "Itâs a lot of peopleâs dream to live off the land, but the reality of it is, you have to have a plan for how youâre going to pay the bills," says Kuhn. His journey is not unlike that of many beginners who are eager to try their hand at farming but donât yet have all the necessary skills and resources. In a recent report titled Building a Future with Farmers, the National Young Farmersâ Coalition (NYFC) surveyed 1,000 young and beginning farmers across the US and found that access to land, capital, health care, credit, and business training posed huge challenges. "Whatâs different for young and first-career farmers is that they donât have a lot of equity," says Severine von Tscharner Fleming, a young farmer in New Yorkâs Hudson Valley who is also co-chair of NYFC and director of The Greenhorns, a film and nonprofit organization that advocates for young farmers. "You see a lot of student debt. Farming is a high-capital industryâan industry that really needs us, but weâre walking in without any cash." Green Thumbs To Greenhorn Kuhnâs path to farming started as a child in San Geronimo, where he had little exposure to agriculture but picked up a passion for gardening from his grandmother. "She had two green thumbs for sure, and I learned from that," says Kuhn. When he went to Humboldt State, he joined their new agriculture program and studied permaculture on the side. He also took time off from school to work at an organic soil company and contemplate career paths. After college he started farming a small one-acre plot, using the model heâd learned on the student farm, but realized the operation was more like a hobby farm than a viable business. So he worked as a landscaper while farming small plots in friendsâ backyards, which eventually helped him build the courage to take the leap into full-time farming. He took out a "land wanted" ad in the Press Democrat and, after receiving a number of responses, settled on a 15-acre agricultural plot on a goat dairy ranch near Petaluma. But there were setbacks infrastructure-wise, such as having to install a new irrigation system, and Kuhn began charging up his credit cards. Right when he was about to declare bankruptcy, a low-interest beginning farmer loan through the USDA Farm Service Agency came through. He was able to buy a tractor, a delivery truck, and seeds. Through much experimentation, Kuhn found his niche growing organic specialty crops such as baby greens, roots, beans, and summer squash for farmers markets and grocery stores, restaurants, and wholesalers. "A lot of the products I was selling werenât standardized because I was doing open-pollinated varieties, but there was certainly a market for that," he says. He now employs a handful of full-time market and field staff. Kuhn has had to learn much through trial by fire, particularly the organizational side of growing a successful business. Heâs found support in his family (his mother helps with accounting, and his father is on call as farm mechanic), as well as in other Marin farmers and the Bay Area farmers market community. "Itâs definitely tough farming," he says. "The farmers market has been a great support network for me, meeting up with the other farmers every week, bouncing ideas off each other, seeing what theyâre bringing to market, and getting their advice." Growing Roots Kuhn is still a young farmer by national standards, which place the average farmer at 57. The USDA estimates that 500,000 US farmers (about one-quarter) will retire by 2030, leaving a large gap for the next generation to fill. "We have ever older farmers and ever fewer people who are growing our food," says Fleming. "I think young farmers are especially well poised to address food security and the re-regionalization of our food system." As a result of the Building a Future with Farmers study, the NYFC has proposed a policy agenda including recommendations such as improving credit and savings opportunities, addressing land access and affordability issues, legalizing farm apprenticeships, and expanding training programs. (For more about legal issues related to apprenticeships, see The Farm Intern Conundrum.) The NYFC study underscores the viability of direct marketing as a start-up strategy for new farmers, with 61 percent of their respondents selling at farmers markets and 49 percent through CSAs. "Helping young farmers means reorienting our food systems so that weâre not just supporting producers who are growing commodity crops and abandoning the small- and medium-scale producers who are more than likely selling directly to the marketplace," says Fleming. For aspiring greenhorns, Kuhn recommends getting a job or volunteering on a farm in order to get to know the business. When taking the plunge into starting your own farm, he emphasizes finding the right piece of land, with infrastructure already in place, and developing a niche. But despite the challenges heâs encountered along the way, Kuhn loves what he does. "Being able to wake up on the farm is incredible," he says. "And itâs rewarding to go to the farmers market and meet the people who are going to be eating my food."   "Young Farmers" Land and Sea documentary <A href="http://www.cbc.ca/landandsea/2012/01/young-farmers.html">http://www.cbc.ca/landandsea/2012/01/young-farmers.html</A> "Young Farmers" documentary- In a time when our appetite for mass produced, imported foods seems to have no limits - we'll meet a small group of young farmers who are choosing new ways to work their land and sell their goods."      </DIV>

PEI ADAPT Agri-News Message

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:47:00 GMT

<DIV> </DIV> <DIV><IMG src="http://peiadapt.com/adapt_logo.gif" align=right> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.6169" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </DIV> <DIV> PEI ADAPT Council Agri-Newsletter <DIR> <DIR> <HR align=left width="0%" SIZE=1> </DIR></DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR> Vol. XI; No. 2; January 27, 2012 The Mission of the PEI ADAPT Council is to assist the agriculture and agri-food industry adapt to new challenges and opportunities and support innovative ways of doing business. Since 1999, the Council has invested over $1 million/year, to enhance the vision of an innovative, sustainable and competitive industry on Prince Edward Island. In This Issue: PEI ADAPT AGM/Conference, âThe Future Face of Island Agriculture,â March 7-8, 2012 What Will PEI Look like in 2030? New Book: âFood, ...an insightful and engaging, introduction to the global food economy.â Farming Luring More Young People   PEI ADAPT AGM & ConferenceâThe Future Face of Island Agricultureâ March 7-8, 2012 Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island With Guests;     Dr. Av Singh, AgraPoint,                             Lucia Stephen, ACORN, âGrow a Farmer Project,â                             Monique McTiernan, Executive Director Atlantic Agriculture Leadership Program                             Jennifer Waugh-Campbell, PEI Young Farmer and others                             plus the Atlantic premier of, âGrowâ     (Winner BEST DOCUMENTARY â 2011 Rome International Film Festival; Official Selection â 2011                             Slow Motion Food Film Fest Nova Scotia; Official Selection â 2012 Macon Film Festival) Watch for further details or contact: <A href="mailto:phil@peiadapt.com">phil@peiadapt.com</A>   What Will PEI Look like in 2030? âScenario Planning,â specialists Juliet Fox and David Beurle (Future IQ Partners Inc.) are firm believers that Prince Edward Island already has all the elements needed to develop a province that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable for the long term. The PEI Federation of Agriculture, with assistance from the PEI ADAPT Council, received funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) to bring Future IQ Partners to PEI to conduct a âScenario Planningâ workshop. Since 1999, the ADAPT Council has invested over $1 million/year, to enhance the vision of an innovative, sustainable and competitive industry on Prince Edward Island. According to the Councilâs chair, Elmer MacDonald, the scenario planning workshop is another example of how PEI ADAPT works to assist the agriculture and agri-food industry develop value chains beyond the traditional sector and support innovative ways of doing business. Scenario Planning is a process that determine plausible future outcomes based upon known research and trends that are occurring today. The workshops help industry sectors, companies and/or communities assess where they are headed and where they want to be in the near and long-term future. The workshop brought together 100 Islanders from a wide spectrum of Island life. It was the first step in what is now a developing value chain of Islanders who plan to create and implement programs and approaches that will make a lasting difference in reintegrating Island agriculture and agri-food as a vital component of the social, cultural and economic elements of Prince Edward Islandâs future. The diversity of the group didnât happen by accident, said Beurle. In addition to public announcements, an invitation list intentionally targeted people from all walks of the Islandâs professional, economic, social, and academic spectrum. "If a community is to develop and implement a shared vision, it has to be a grass roots exercise," he said. Since much of the workshop involved working in small groups, a deliberate attempt was made bring together people from different viewpoints. "It may be the first time many of these people had an opportunity to talk to each other directly. And now that the conversation has begun, it will hopefully continue as they work towards that future vision." Elmer MacDonald, Chair of the PEI ADAPT Council and a workshop participant, said PEI has a unique identity and culture and "lots of smart, thoughtful people." He was thrilled with the outcome of the session, and the incredible amount of excitement that was generated among participants about the future of their Island. One of the tools used to break the ice and get participants thinking about planning is what Beurle and Fox call the "The Futures Game." Using an imaginary locale, participants are able to choose from a variety of scenarios that lead to a future. Future IQ Partners has several versions of the game, but the one used for the Prince Edward Island session was Ireland, since that island country faces many of the same issues as PEI. The participants, divided into 20 different groups and identified a number of options for possible future development. The game then followed a variety of tracts showing the impact those decisions would have on their communities. Juliet Fox and David Beurle visited the province several times prior to the Scenario Planning session working with the Island steering committee. While the event was sponsored by two agricultural organizations, she said committee members recognized early that the scope of the discussion would have to go beyond the realm of the Islandâs number one industry. Fox, who was also thrilled at the outcome of the workshop, said there are "so many possibilities" for the next step in the process. She and her partner have written a report of the session including some possible next steps that arose out of the event. Beurle said global shifts are creating a new reality. "You have to determine how you deal with the big forces of change. The solutions exemplified in the report are âmade in PEIâ, we are simply providing the context of the conversationâthe answers are up to you. And those solutions must be measured against a "triple bottom line" for their economic, social and environmental impacts," he said. A committee of participants has been formed and is meeting to examine the Future IQ Partnersâ report, and determine next steps. Anyone interested in learning more about Scenario Planning or who would like to participate in future events, can email to: <A href="mailto:scenarioppei@gmail.com">scenarioppei@gmail.com</A>.   New Book: âFood,â by Jennifer Clapp "This excellent book explains why food has become a hot political issue on the global stage. The author clearly knows her subject and offers an insightful, engaging, and highly accessible introduction to the global food economy." Robert Falkner, London School of Economics and Political Science Food is one of the most basic resources that humans need for daily survival. Forty percent of the worldâs population gains a livelihood from agriculture and we all consume food. Yet control over this fundamental resource is concentrated in relatively few hands. The 2008 food price crisis illustrated both the volatility and vulnerability built into the current global food system; at the height of the crisis, the number of hungry people on the planet climbed to over 1 billion. At the same time, there are serious ecological consequences that stem from an increasingly industrial model of agriculture that has spread worldwide. This book aims to contribute to a fuller understanding of the forces that influence and shape the current global food system. Author Jennifer Clapp explores how corporate control, inequitable international agricultural trade rules, and the financialization of farm commodities have each had a fundamental influence on the practices that dominate todayâs global food system. By contrast, farmers and consumers, particularly in the developing world, have had little voice to change the rules of the game. But movements are emerging to challenge the dominant global system. The extent to which these alternative movements can displace it, however, remains to be seen. Here is a link where copies can be ordered: <A href="http://www.polity.co.uk/book.asp?ref=9780745649351">http://www.polity.co.uk/book.asp?ref=9780745649351</A>   Farming Luring More Young People By DINESH RAMDE 12/21/11 <A href="mailto:dramde@ap.org">dramde@ap.org</A>; <A href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/21/farming-young-people_n_1162575.html?ref=food&ir=Food">Huffingtton Post</A> MILWAUKEE -- A Wisconsin factory worker worried about layoffs became a dairy farmer. An employee at a Minnesota nonprofit found an escape from her cubicle by buying a vegetable farm. A nuclear engineer tired of office bureaucracy decided to get into cattle ranching in Texas. While fresh demographic information on U.S. farmers won't be available until after the next agricultural census is done next year, there are signs more people in their 20s and 30s are going into farming: Enrollment in university agriculture programs has increased, as has interest in farmer-training programs. Young people are turning up at farmers markets and are blogging, tweeting and promoting their agricultural endeavors through other social media. The young entrepreneurs typically cite two reasons for going into farming: Many find the corporate world stifling and see no point in sticking it out when there's little job security; and demand for locally grown and organic foods has been strong enough that even in the downturn they feel confident they can sell their products. Laura Frerichs, 31, of Hutchinson, Minn., discovered her passion for farming about a year after she graduated from college with an anthropology degree. She planned to work in economic development in Latin America and thought she ought to get some experience working on a farm. She did stints on five farms, mostly vegetable farms, and fell in love with the work. Frerichs and her husband now have their own organic farm, and while she doesn't expect it to make them rich, she's confident they'll be able to earn a living. "There's just this growing consciousness around locally grown foods, around organic foods," she said. "Where we are in the Twin Cities there's been great demand for that." Farming is inherently risky: Drought, flooding, wind and other weather extremes can all destroy a year's work. And with farmland averaging $2,140 per acre across the U.S. but two to four times that much in the Midwest and California, the start-up costs can be daunting. Still, agriculture fared better than many parts of the economy during the recession, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts record profits for farmers as a whole this year. "People are looking at farm income, especially the increase in asset values, and seeing a really positive story about our economy," said USDA senior economist Mary Clare Ahearn, citing preliminary statistics. "Young people are viewing agriculture as a great opportunity and saying they want to be a part of it." That's welcome news to the government. More than 60 percent of farmers are over the age of 55, and without young farmers to replace them when they retire the nation's food supply would depend on fewer and fewer people. "We'd be vulnerable to local economic disruptions, tariffs, attacks on the food supply, really, any disaster you can think of," said Poppy Davis, who coordinates the USDA's programs for beginning farmers and ranchers. US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has called for 100,000 new farmers within the next few years, and Congress has responded with proposals that would provide young farmers with improved access to USDA support and loan programs. One beginning farmer is Gabrielle Rojas, 34, from the central Wisconsin town of Hewitt. As a rebellious teen all she wanted to do was leave her family's farm and find a career that didn't involve cows. But she changed her mind after spending years in dead-end jobs in a factory and restaurant. "In those jobs I'm just a number, just a time-clock number," Rojas said. "But now I'm doing what I love to do. If I'm having a rough day or I'm a little sad because the sun's not shining or my tractor's broken, I can always go out and be by the cattle. That always makes me feel better." Rojas got help in changing careers from an apprenticeship program paid for by the USDA, which began giving money in 2009 to universities and nonprofit groups that help train beginning farmers. The grants helped train about 5,000 people the first year. This year, the USDA estimates more than twice as many benefited. One of the groups that received a grant is Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service, or MOSES. The Spring Valley, Wis., chapter teaches farming entrepreneurs how to cope with price swings and what to do in cases of catastrophic weather. MOSES also organizes field days, where would-be farmers tour the operations of successful farms to learn and share tips. Attendance is up 20 percent this year, director Faye Jones said, and some outings that used to attract 30 or 40 people have drawn as many as 100, most between the ages of 18 and 30. "I think for many people, farming has been a lifelong dream, and now the timing is right," she said. Among the reasons she cited: the lifestyle, working in the fresh air and being one's own boss. If farming is beginning to sound like an appealing career, there are downsides. The work involves tough physical labor, and vacations create problems when there are crops to be harvested and cows to be milked. In addition, many farmers need second jobs to get health insurance or make ends meet. As the USDA notes, three-fifths of farms have sales of less than $10,000 a year, although some may be growing fruit trees or other crops that take a few years to develop. None of those factors dissuaded 27-year-old Paul Mews. He left a high-paying job as a nuclear engineer last year to become a cattle rancher in Menard, Texas. His wife's family has been ranching for generations, and Mews decided he'd much rather join his in-laws and be his own boss than continue shuffling paperwork at the plant. "When you're self-employed it's so much more fulfilling. You get paid what you're worth," he said. "It's really nice that what you put into it is what you're going to get back out."    </DIV>

PEI ADAPT Agri-News Message

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:30:00 GMT

<DIV> </DIV> <DIV><IMG src="http://peiadapt.com/adapt_logo.gif" align=right> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.6169" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </DIV> <DIV> <HR align=left width="0%" SIZE=1> PEI ADAPT Council Agri-Newsletter <DIR> <DIR> <HR align=left width="0%" SIZE=1> </DIR></DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR> Vol. XI; No. 1; January 18, 2012 In This Issue: Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society - organic farming on PEI The Call of the Land - A Primer for People & Their Communities Backyard Inventors W Network TV Series...Looking for Innovators Is Your Pet Eating Better Than You Are? What You Can Do For IYC 2012 Editor's Note:         Upcoming.....PEI ADAPT Council AGM/Conference, 'The Future Face of Island Agriculture,' March 7-8   Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society focusing on major organic farming developments  by Steve Sharratt, <A href="http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2012-01-16/article-2865696/Buddhists-unveil-plans-during-gratitude-tea/1">The Guardian</A>, January 16, 2012 MONTAGUE, PEI â The growing Buddhist community unveiled plans for their future here over the weekend, which includes everything from major organic farm developments, increased monastic training and learning ways to keep cars from sliding off ice-covered roads. The Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society (GEBIS) held a gratitude reception at its Montague academy where over 150 Islanders packed the hall to get the latest update about a religious community that has drawn both praise and raised concern among locals. Since arriving almost four years ago and purchasing the old Lobster Shanty restaurant and pub, the Buddhist group has spread like wildfire. There are roughly 150 monks in rotating study and about 25 lay people to assist and administer the operations, and plans are afoot to sell P.E.I. produce abroad and even bring the Taiwanese symphony orchestra in for a performance. Theyâve built a monastery in Little Sands, and have purchased numerous older farms acquiring almost 1,000 acres of farmland in the southern Kings and Queens region. For some residents, the spectre of change and the cultural differences have created both intrigue and suspicion; like lobster fishermen off Wood Islands who hear the gong ringing over the water at 4 a.m. when the monks rise for the day. But it was clear here Saturday that a majority welcomes the newcomers, who are largely from Taiwan. "I think itâs great theyâre here and I think they add to the community," said well known businessman George Beck, who operates the Home Hardware in Montague and attended the afternoon session. While society president Venerable Liu provided insights into the Buddhist goals, it was Venerable Frank who had the audience laughing with tales of cultural adjustments â especially newcomers coping with icy Island roads. "Yes, we are working on our driving techniques,ââ he said. "We are putting heavy emphasis on monks and volunteers. We want nice habit or right knowledge, not only to protect our lives, but your lives as well. And since we protect life, even raccoonâs life, we will drive more gently and politely." But cultural adjustments aside, it was made clear the Buddhist group is focusing on major organic farming developments that will see crops sold from Truro to Taiwan. Already the group is signing contracts with farmers to grow non-genetically modified soybeans for sales in Taiwan estimated at hundreds of thousands of tonnes. "We are not here to take advantage of this Island, we are here to introduce some of our successful experiences and see if we can do some contributions,ââ said Venerable Frank. "The reason we are successful is because we have a group of people with the same idea and we work together so we have hope." In a video presentation, Venerable Liu said the world is becoming polluted, over populated, and facing global challenges like never before. "We believe the world will face death by hunger, death by poison or death by war,ââ he said. "To resolve this, our Master says to promote organic farming. We must heal the mind and heal the land." Venerable Frank said monks donât have money, but the society does because people who want to save the earth donate money and the Buddhist groups use it to buy and preserve agricultural land. The group now has about 1,000 acres of regional farmland here and is planning a Canada Week in Taiwan to feature organic products grown on P.E.I. in the future. They plan to sign contracts with farmers in May or June to grow organic products that will be shipped to Taiwan in October for sale in the 86 chain stores they operate in the island nation of 23 million people. "We want to promote organic farming for us to eat better and to sell our crops to those who will buy,ââ he said. "If we buy food with pesticides and chemical fertilizers we have chronic diseases and die early. When we use chemicals, whatâs the resultâ¦. lots of cancer." The group espouses efforts to relieve poverty, preserve land, provide welfare and education programs, promote peace and diversity in all cultures and religions, and protect animals. All life is respected in Buddhist society and swatting mosquitoes is even taboo. The group has already set up a small Dundas area holding with horses and cattle that will live out their natural lives untouched. "Our intention through purchase and leasing land is to help out farmers willing to grow healthy crops organically,ââ said Geoff Yang, executive director. "We will do things that need to be done if others arenât willing to do it, but if they are doing it, we will not infringe." P.E.I. businessman Joe Spriet, past chair of the 2009 Canada Games and long-time tobacco grower, attended the Buddhist tea and appreciated the similarities. He was one of a number of Belgian and Dutch background farmers who relocated from Ontario to grow tobacco in P.E.I. during the late 1960s. That commodity turned into a cash cow for at least 20 years before fizzling out in 1990. "I think these people are on the right track,ââ he told The Guardian. "Itâs a lot more expensive to grow organic food, but if they can identify markets for such produce and make the sales, I think itâs great." Fresh market farmer Rose Viaene from Belfast told the crowd her Riverview Market in Charlottetown suffered financial loss last year from the construction of two roundabouts built on Riverside Drive. "We couldnât sell our vegetables because no one could get to the store anymore,ââ she said. "But a monk came to the store and we told him our plight and two weeks later they came to our farm and bought everything. It was because of them we were able to go on this year." Viaene encouraged Islanders to get to know the Buddhist newcomers and welcome their arrival. "These people are here out of the kindness of their hearts and for all beings regardless whether raccoons or mosquitoes," she joked with the crowd. "And yes, I donât swat them anymore...I only blow at them now."     The Call of the Land - A Primer for People & Their Communities ~ Food security, Economic stability, Environmental repair ~ Lincoln, Nebraska - In the face of accelerating gas and food prices, author Steven McFadden has developed a greatly expanded edition of The Call of the Land: An Agrarian Primer for the 21st Century. This book has been widely hailed as an outstanding outreach tool for existing farms, farmers markets, CSAs. food coops, and other sustainable enterprises to build community support. Community projects can use the book to enrich the understanding of participants and to deepen their commitment and their creative responses to the overall call of the land. Food Systems Network NYC named the first edition of Call of the Land as one of the "best books of 2009." Now the 2nd edition is enriched with more than 100 additional positive proactive working models for families, neighborhoods, towns, cities and regions to respond to the urgent call of the land. The Call of the Land - 2nd edition offers an effective way for people to respond to the changing economy and environment by learning about and becoming involved in local foods security. The book is loaded with positive models of ways people are meeting the challenge of caring for the land and providing an ample supply of clean food. The Call of the Land gives voice to a swelling chorus of "millennial agrarians" who are working in backyards, neighborhoods, cities, suburbs, countryside, schools, churches, companies, and campuses to create a clean, secure, sustainable food system. Journalist Steven McFadden is co-author of Farms of Tomorrow (1991), the first book on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). He has written about the land and food for over 35 years. He is the author of 12 non-fiction books, including Profiles in Wisdom, and Odyssey of the 8th Fire. Authorâs blog:<A href="http://www.thecalloftheland.com/">http://www.thecalloftheland.com</A> Reviews of the book:<A href="http://thecalloftheland.wordpress.com/reviews/">http://thecalloftheland.wordpress.com/reviews/</A> Sales page for the book: <A href="http://www.thecalloftheland.info/">http://www.thecalloftheland.info/</A>   Backyard Inventors W Network TV Series...Looking for Innovators The TV series will produce 14 episodes â 2 have already been held on W network. Doug Hall with Eureka Ranch consulting and inventions guru (he has worked with the PEI agriculture sector in the past) is the host and expert working with companies and has a developed a system that companies work through from idea to commercialization. Do you have a unique invention? Have you found a genius solution to an everyday problem? If so, inventions guru Doug Hall founder of the innovation incubator Eureka! Ranch, is hitting the road on a new TV series, searching for inventions that are diamonds in the rough. W network is looking for Canadian candidates with inventions that meet the following criteria: 1) Your invention has a WORKING PROTOTYPE. 2) It is unique, visually interesting, and can be tested by Doug. 3) It does not have a history of sales. 4) It is for everyday use and something that every Canadian should own! Taping of this series begins in late January, 2012. The sooner you submit your idea, the better your chances are of appearing on the show. To find out more or to apply for the show, please download an application here: <A href="http://www.gorillamediainc.com/inventors_apply_here.pdf">www.gorillamediainc.com/inventors_apply_here.pdf</A> Email it along with a digital image of your invention, your workspace, and yourself to <A href="mailto:casting@gorillamediainc.com">casting@gorillamediainc.com</A>.   Is Your Pet Eating Better Than You Are? By Tara Parker-Pope, <A href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/is-your-pet-eating-better-than-you-are/">New York Times</A> Sari Remer of DogChewz NYC sells snacks for four-legged gourmands.Gary Bogdon for The New York TimesSari Remer of DogChewz NYC sells snacks for four-legged gourmands. Despite a sluggish economy, the market for gourmet pet foods and other luxury pet products is booming, explains Business Day reporter Andrew Martin. As he writes: Pan-seared duck with brown rice and blueberry compote. Roasted turkey with butternut squash and russet potatoes. Salmon with black-and-white quinoa. Delish. Just keep in mind that all of this, right down to those banana and yogurt health bars, is dog food. Not mere Alpo, mind you â not by a long shot. â¦ Pet owners, or "parents" in industry parlance, are being sold on human-style luxuries and medical care. There are stylish rain slickers, organic foods and even antidepressants for todayâs pampered cats and dogs. Read the full report, "â<A href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/business/05pets.html?_r=1">For the Dogsâ Has a Whole New Meaning</A>."   What You Can Do For IYC 2012 The International Year of Co-operatives, or IYC, celebrates a different way of doing business, one focused on human need not human greed, where the members (who own and govern the business) collectively enjoy the benefits instead of all profits going just to shareholders. Having an International Year of Co-operatives provides an opportunity to captivate the attention of national governments, the business community and, most importantly, the general public on the advantages provided by the co-operative model. In order to live up to its potential, it will need the support of all co-operatives, big and small. Here's the start of the list: 1. Post the seven co-op principles in your lunch room, and discuss a different one each month during a staff meeting. 2. Buy something from just ONE more co-op this month. It could be fair trade organic coffee for your lunch room, organic cotton for your company uniforms, or consulting services for strategic planning or board training. 3. Put some money in a term deposit in your local credit union. For more information on how to can integrate into its IYC plans to meet the goals of this international year, see: <A href="http://www.ica.coop/al-ica/">International Co-operative Alliance (ICA)</A>   The Mission of the PEI ADAPT Council is to assist the agriculture and agri-food industry adapt to new challenges and opportunities and support innovative ways of doing business.  Since 1999, the Council has invested over $1 million/year, to enhance the vision of an innovative, sustainable and competitive industry on Prince Edward Island.      </DIV>

PEI ADAPT Agri-News Message

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:22:00 GMT

<IMG src="http://peiadapt.com/adapt_logo.gif" align=right> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.6169" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> PEI ADAPT Council Agri-Newsletter <DIR> <DIR> <HR align=right SIZE=1> <HR align=left width="0%" SIZE=1> </DIR></DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR> Vol. X; No. 14; December 22, 2011 In This Issue: Wireworm Control in Horticultural Crops Giving Everybody Access to Healthy Food Canadian Food Summit â February 2012, Toronto An Eye for Apples Grassfed Cooking Local Food Is No Small Potatoes: Farmers Rake In Almost $5 Billion   Wireworm Control in Horticultural Crops The emergence of wireworms across Prince Edward Island has vegetable growers facing an expanding and very expensive problem. Wireworms attack most vegetables including: bean, carrot, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, radish, rutabaga, and turnip. Farmers are hamstrung by the fact there are no chemicals approved for use to control the pest. That often forces them to take the expensive step of pulling land out of production until the wireworm (the larvae of the click beetle) completes its five year life cycle. "Even then, there is no guarantee the problem will be solved," said Joanne Driscoll, manager of the PEI Horticultural Association. With funding help from the PEI ADAPT Council (which administers the Canadian Agriculture Adaptation Program (CAAP) for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), the Council is looking at exploring natural controls for the pest. Driscoll said the wireworm project hopes to build on work done by the Dr. Christine Noronha from 2007 to 2009. The scientist at the Crop and Livestock Research Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada identified brown mustard and buckwheat as potential wireworm controls. Those two crops are integrated into the rotation of three vegetable operationsâMacKenzie Produce in Stratford, Brookfield Gardens, and Paul Croken in Emerald. Brown mustard produces glucosinolates, which break down to act as a fumigant for pests like wireworm. Glucosinolates are found in the root of the plant. The crop must be cut before it goes to seed and the natural chemical moves up to the seed pod. Driscoll said that means the brown mustard would have no commercial value. "If the project works like we hope, growers can integrate brown mustard for a couple of years to clean up a field of wireworm," the manager said. As far as buckwheat is concerned, Driscoll says research done by both Dr. Noronha and the association indicates that they suspect there is something that acts as a deterrent to pests in its root system. Unlike brown mustard, she said buckwheat could have potential as a rotation crop. The adult wireworm, known as the click beetle, lays its eggs between April and June. The larvae hatch in about three weeks and burrow in the soil up to a metre deep. Driscoll said they take a heavy toll on transplants in the spring. "It is something we have to explore further. Transplants need about six weeks to get established and during that period they are especially vulnerable to attack from wireworm," said Driscoll. However, she said the fall is not as much of a threat to vegetable crops since the wireworm tend to eat primarily on the root and "we donât sell that." While Greg MacKenzie of MacKenzie Produce said it is too soon to pass judgment on how the project will turn out, he is optimistic. He added "before we had absolutely nothing in our toolbox to combat wirewormâat least now we have a possibility."   Giving Everybody Access to Healthy Food Will Allen is the CEO of Growing Power, a non-profit that aims to "provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities". Many people are called geniuses, but few of them actually get a 'genius' prize from the MacArthur Foundation. Will Allen was one of the rare few to be selected, because he's so visionary that he shows us the way to go forward and does it better than anyone else. Spark has made a great short video that gives an overview of Will Allen's work on the urban farm. <A href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/macarthur-genius-will-allen-shows-us-the-future-of-urban-agriculture-video.html">Click here to check it out!</A>   Canadian Food Summit â February 2012, Toronto The Conference Board of Canada is hosting a Food Summit conference, February 7-8, 2012 in Toronto. This two day summit features a wide variety of speakers joining together to discuss Canadaâs major food challenges and opportunities. Most FOODTECH Canada centres will be in attendance, along with a range of food companies, retailers, senior government and food organizations. The Conference Board of Canada invites you to join the discussion on the future of food in Canada. <A href="http://www.conferenceboard.ca/conf/12-0018/default.aspx">Details of the event can be found on the Conference Board website</A>   An Eye for Apples Mary MacKay, <A href="http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/Arts/Entertainment/2011-11-26/article-2815404/An-eye-for-apples/1">The Guardian</A>, November 26, 2011 Kevin Garvey of Bethel is somewhat of a Johnny Appleseed of a good Prince Edward Island apple history read. For much of the 2010 growing season, he traipsed across the province collecting seeds of knowledge for a project that grew into a ring-bound booklet entitled A Part of Our Heritage: A History of Apple Farming on P.E.I. and a DVD with an interactive database of almost every apple variety grown in the province. "If you get an eye for seeing an apple tree (you can pick them out easily). When I'm driving I can see an apple tree from a mile away and I can tell whether it's cultivated or not just by where it's located and the growth pattern of it," Garvey grins. "And even today there are so many varieties of apples that are growing out there on P.E.I. . . ." This apple tree story is rooted in the backyard orchard Garvey started a few years ago that features heritage varieties that he's grafted. Garvey applied for and received funding from the P.E.I. ADAPT Council and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for a heritage apple project last year. During the 2010 growing season he crossed the Island, interviewing apple growers and also attempted to locate the remnants of any historical varieties. He photographed each variety and completed a database that contains details about each variety, both in the present and P.E.I.'s apple-growing past. "In the early settler days they planted orchards to supply apples (for) vinegar, cider, yeast and dried fruit for the homestead," Garvey says. "But, in the late 19th century there started to be an interest in apple growing (on a commercial scale). In agriculture in general there was a wave of innovation and so Islanders were looking to diversify. And this was at a time when the shipbuilding era was coming to a close and I think they were stepping forward with these new agricultural prospects." In 1896, Lt.-Gov. George Howlan formed the P.E.I. Fruit Growers Association. "There were several factors, including the efforts and organization of the association, that contributed to the increase in apple production. The apples grown on the Island were of high quality and . . . were awarded prizes at European fruit exhibits in 1900 and 1901," Garvey writes in his book. "Another factor was the establishment of a provincial Department of Agriculture in 1901, which supported apple growing from the very beginning. Within a year, the newly formed department had planted a model orchard at Ravenwood, now known as the Experimental Farms, on the outskirts of Charlottetown." Model orchards were also set up in Montague, Morell, Springfield, Kensington and Alberton with nine varieties of apples in each. By 1920 the production of apples overall peaked at more than 175,000 bushels, up dramatically from 31,500 in 1880. In fact, by the turn of the 20th century there were upwards of 200,000 apple trees on the Island. "(Production) started going down in the 1920s. There were a number of factors. The industrialization of farming was just starting to really become organized and solidified in North America...," Garvey says. "So, at this time a lot of these industries were just starting to get their shipping and their storage and their co-operatives all together. Nova Scotia was able to succeed at that before we were able to and so shipping was a major issue for us. And also the fact that we weren't able to establish a co-operative with centralized warehousing quick enough to really get ahead of the game and beat out some of these competitors." Apple production dwindled to almost nothing. But in the last two decades there has been a renewed interest in apple growing, with approximately a half dozen apple growers in commercial operation today. "Many of them have created successful U-picks and other value-added industries (such as cider, jellies and apple wine)," Garvey says. For Garvey, the apple of his eye for his booklet was the Inkerman, a variety that was bred in New Perth by John Robertson in the late 1800s. "He planted an orchard of 24 acres (to start) and over the years he discovered this chance seedling which he named the Inkerman. . . It won prizes in Glasgow and Paris," he says. "In John Robertson's own words âThe Inkerman grew up from an imported tree that had died to the ground. It is an excellent fruit that endures anything.' And so back in the day when you had minimal amounts of spray equipment you're really looking for an apple that is hardy (and) that wouldn't get infested with disease." After reading an article about the Inkerman apple Garvey went in search of the old Robertson homestead in the hopes of finding any trace of it. Although he struck out he still has hope that somehow he will one day find an offspring of Robertson's famous Inkerman. "He was supplying trees to a vast majority of the Island. He was growing upwards of 10,000 trees a year for people," he says. "It's documented that he had 865 Inkerman apple trees for sale this particular one year. That's a lot of trees. If it is hardy and endures anything, chances are it probably still does exist." In addition to the booklet, also part of Garvey's apple research package is the heritage apple database that is useful not only to present-day apple farmers who want to grow some of these old varieties but also for people who want to rediscover what is steadfastly still growing in their own backyards. "(The booklet and the DVD are) supposed to inspire people, whether it's to support local farmers and buy local produce or to start their own farm."   Grassfed Cooking Shannon Hayes writes and works with her family on Sap Bush Hollow Farm in Upstate New York, where they raise pastured livestock. She holds a Ph.d. in sustainable agriculture and community development from Cornell, and a B.A. in Creative Writing from Binghamton University. She is the author of The Farmer and the Grill and The Grassfed Gourmet, as well as numerous articles and essays on food, farming and rural living. To learn more about Sap Bush Hollow Farm, visit <A href="http://www.sapbush.com/">www.sapbush.com</A>. She is both a third-generation farmer as well as an example of the paradigm shift that exemplifies the new generation of farmers who are committed to saving the family farm by avoiding debt and protecting the planet with sustainable farming practices. <A href="http://Www.grassfedcooking.com/"> Www.grassfedcooking.com</A> is a source of everything worth knowing about cooking with grass-fed meats and grass-fed farm life. Itâs also the place where you can buy books directly from the author. <DIV> </DIV> Local Food Is No Small Potatoes: Farmers Rake In Almost $5 Billion by Nancy Shute It's easy to think of local food as a diversion for people with plenty of time and money - something that could never be a major source of food in a globalized world. But the number $4.8 billion might change that perception. Farmers are selling $4.8 billion a year in fruits and vegetables in their local markets, according to a new analysis by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "There have been a lot of questions in the past if promoting local foods is even worth it," says Sarah Low, an economist with the USDA's Economic Research Service, co-author of the study. But with these numbers, she suggests that there could be a lot more room to increase demand." Indeed, the lion's share - $2.7 to $3.8 billion - came from farmers selling food through channels like restaurants and grocery stores. It was the first time the USDA has included those sales in surveying local food markets. The restaurant and store markets are attracting bigger farmers who have too much produce to efficiently sell direct to consumers, Low says. "Forty percent of all fruit and vegetable producers are now selling locally," she added. And even though her numbers don't explicitly track growth, "that to me suggests some growth." This survey asked farmers about their 2008 crops, and they don't include two hot new markets - sales of local produce to schools and institutions like hospitals and prisons. (The USDA launched a program to nurture partnerships between local farms and schools earlier this year.) Lowe says future surveys will include those as well. Although the $4.8 billion number sounds big, it represents just 2 percent of American agricultural sales. The rest - 98 percent - comes largely from sales of big commodities like soybeans and corn. Even so, the next set of numbers on local food sales from USDA should reveal whether local food is a fad, or a business model that's here to stay. Also Read: 'Locally Grown' Food Now A $4.8 Billion Business, Says USDA Report By Jim Suhr 11/14/11; Associated PressAP; Source: <A href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/14/locally-grown-food_n_1092146.html?ref=food&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008">Huffington Post</A>

PEI Scenario Planning Wkshp Dec 6

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 03:46:00 GMT

<DIV> Scenario Planning Workshop: âWorking Together Prince Edward Islandâ Tuesday December 6, 2011; 9:00 am - 8:00pm; Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island We are pleased to invite you to an enjoyable, engaging and robust discussion that will lay the groundwork for a sustainable future on Prince Edward Island. Weâll discuss where we are, were we headed and how to get to where we want to be. Your participation will help lead us to a stimulating and meaningful discussion about future scenarios, and explore critical decisions that will affect Prince Edward Islandâs social, economic, environmental and cultural way of life. Scenario Planning, is a method that can be used to powerfully examine plausible futures. Used with great success with both public and private sector decision makers in many locations around the world, this approach is proving to be a rigorous and insightful approach which can enhance new and existing regional planning efforts. For a broader definition, you can refer to the www site of our workshop facilitators are David Beurle and Juliet Fox (see <A href="http://www.ila.net.au/html/s01_home/home.asp">http://www.ila.net.au/html/s01_home/home.asp</A>) For an understanding of the potential of this workshop we suggest you check out (and share with others) a video of David Buerle, 'Rural Revitalization: Challenges and Keys to Success From Australia and the US (14min). Go to: <A href="http://sibacs.com/videos/">http://sibacs.com/videos/</A> and then scroll down. Workshop Schedule: Tuesday - December 6, 2011 <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> 9:00am - 1:00pm - Project overview, Future Game, global drivers, local context, local driver creation and ranking - with scheduled breaks.</DIR></DIR>                     1:00 - 3:00pm - Lunch & Guest Speaker: Editorial Cartoonist, Wayne Wright <DIR> <DIR> 3:00pm - 7:00pm - The group will create the scenario spaces in 4 separate groups and each scenario to the stakeholder participants.</DIR></DIR>                     7:00pm - 8:00pm - Informal networking and discussion on next steps.</DIR></DIR> Wednesday - December 7, 2011 Meeting with steering committee members to create the next steps of how the scenarios can be used (2-3 hours). There is no cost for this workshop. Meals will be provided to those who pre-register. Pre-registration is necessary in order to confirm how many people will be attending. For more information and to confirm your registration, please call 902-368-2005 or email <A href="mailto:phil@peiadapt.com">scenarioppei@gmail.com</A>.</DIV>

PEI ADAPT Agri-News Message

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:18:00 GMT

Working Together PEI: Scenario Planning Workshop

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 20:59:00 GMT

<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.6148" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> <DIV> Invitation to: Scenario Planning Workshop: âWorking Together Prince Edward Islandâ The PEI ADAPT Council and the PEI Federation of Agriculture are pleased to invite you to a âScenario Planning,â workshop, Tuesday December 6, 2011; Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue, Charlottetown. Our aim is to host an enjoyable, engaging and robust discussion that will lay the groundwork for a sustainable future on Prince Edward Island. Weâll discuss where we are, were we headed and how to get to where we want to be. Your participation will help lead us to a stimulating and meaningful discussion about future scenarios, and explore critical decisions that will affect Prince Edward Islandâs social, economic, environmental and cultural way of life. Our facilitator, David Beurle, Innovative Leadership Australia, introduced the concept of, âScenario Planning,â to us in November 2009, with his highly innovative, "Futures Game.â Since then David and his colleague Juliet Fox have been working throughout North America and Europe, helping people examine possible futures and make flexible long-term plans in an unpredictable environment. We are pleased to have David and Juliet Fox return for this important and unique workshop that will tackle contemporary challenges in a fun and engaging manner. We hope you will join us and share your insights about the future, so that we can identify important actions to move Prince Edward Island and in particular, our individual decisions towards a preferred future. As part of a key group of stakeholders and community leaders we hope to draw upon your knowledge and experience on the social, economic, cultural and environmental realities we face on Prince Edward Island and draw together the collective insights and intelligence of many stakeholders. The ADAPT Council views scenario planning as a valuable tool to assist in our mandate, to consult with the public and to help foster value chain development, with sectors beyond agriculture. It is the Council's expectation that out of the scenario planning exercise, new clients and new project proposals may emerge. For more information and to confirm your registration, please call 902-368-2005 or email: phil@peiadapt.com. Thank you. See you on Tuesday December 6! Workshop Schedule:                                         9:00am - 1:00pm - Project overview, Future Game, global drivers, local context, local driver creation and ranking - with scheduled breaks.                                         1:00 - 3:00pm - Lunch & keynote speaker (tba)                                         3:00pm - 7:00pm - The group will create the scenario spaces in 4 separate groups and each scenario to the stakeholder participants.                                         7:00pm - 8:00pm - Informal networking and discussion on next steps.</DIV>

PEI ADAPT Agri-News Message

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:03:00 GMT

<IMG src="http://peiadapt.com/adapt_logo.gif" align=right> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.6148" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> <DIV> PEI ADAPT Council Agri-Newsletter Vol. X; No. 12; November 21, 2011   In This Issue: Identifying New Markets for Soybeans Save Climate and Double Food Production With Eco-Farming Water Now More Valuable Than Oil? What Would You Pay to Work on the Farm?   Identifying New Markets for Soybeans Only a decade ago, soybeans would have to be described as a "minor" crop in Prince Edward Islandâs agricultural repertoire. While it is still a long way from overtaking potatoes as the main cash harvest, the acreage planted by farmers here is definitely on the rise. This is especially true for identity preserved (non-genetically modified) soybeans. The establishment of a processing plant in the province that is shipping to the Japanese market has also added to the soybeanâs popularity. This growing success brings its own challenges said consultant Ronda Bellefontaine with the PEI Certified Organic Producers Co-op. The Co-op is seeking to identify additional markets for both food and feed soybeans to help match demand with supply and help ensure better prices. With funding from the PEI ADAPT Council (which funds the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program in the province on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), the co-operative has hired Bellefontaine to research the issue. "Basically, we will try to get a sense of the world-wide market and how Island producers might be able to get a share of it," she said. However, her task is not as straightforward as it sounds. She said there could be several factors involved in making markets a reality, including everything from transportation costs to cultural differences. Once potential markets are identified, a guarantee is needed to ensure there are enough products to meet the demand over a long-term basis. "If you gain entry into a new market, you have to ensure the supply is there," Bellefontaine said. "If not, somebody else will be taking your place pretty quickly." She will also make recommendations on how to make sure production remains as closely aligned with demand as possible. She said the reason is simple Economics 101 - an overabundance of a commodity drives down the price. That may be good for a shopper at a clearance sale, but for an agriculture producer it has a severe impact on the bottom line. She will also be looking at the major competitors Island producers face in various potential marketplaces. She says her job will be to make sure producers to have as much information as possible in order to make the best production and marketing decisions." Bellefontaine said she is hoping to file an annual report later this year.   Save Climate and Double Food Production With Eco-Farming By Stephen Leahy, IPS News UXBRIDGE, Mar 8, 2011 (IPS) - Eco-farming could double food production in entire regions within 10 years while mitigating climate change, according to a new U.N. report released Tuesday in Geneva. An urgent transformation to âeco-farmingâ is the only way to end hunger and face the challenges of climate change and rural poverty, said Olivier De Schutter, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to food, following the presentation of his annual report focusing on agro-ecology and the right to food to the U.N. Human Rights Council. "Agro-ecology mimics nature not industrial processes. It replaces the external inputs like fertiliser with knowledge of how a combination of plants, trees and animals can enhance productivity of the land," De Schutter told IPS, stressing that, "Yields went up 214 percent in 44 projects in 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa using agro-ecological farming techniques over a period of 3 to 10 yearsâ¦ far more than any GM [genetically modified] crop has ever done." Other recent scientific assessments have shown that small farmers in 57 countries using agro-ecological techniques obtained average yield increases of 80 percent. Africansâ average increases were 116 percent. "Todayâs scientific evidence demonstrates that agro- ecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilisers in boosting food production in regions where the hungry live," De Schutter said. Agro-ecology applies ecological science to the design of agricultural systems. It enhances soil productivity and protects crops against pests by relying on the natural elements. Eco-farming doesnât require expensive inputs of fossil-fuel- based pesticides, fertilisers, machinery or hybrid seeds. It is ideally suited for poor smallholder farmers and herders who are the bulk of the one billion hungry people in the world. Efforts by governments and major donors such as the 400-million- dollar Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to subsidise fertilizer and hybrid seeds will produce quick boosts in yields but are not sustainable in the long term, De Schutter said. Malawi is touted as an AGRA success story by funders such as the Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation who have massively subsidised fertilizer and created a corresponding improvement in food production. However the country simply cannot afford to continue those subsidies and is shifting its strategy to agro-ecology. "The government now subsidises farmers to plant nitrogen-fixing trees in their fields to ensure sustained growth in maize production," he said. De Shutter says AGRA is looking for quick results and is getting them. He has found it difficult to overcome AGRA proponentsâ suspicions about the effectiveness of agro-ecology, despite the mounting evidence. "I expect countries to express scepticism towards these solutions because they are not in accord with the dominant paradigm," De Schutter said. The dominant view of agriculture is the industrial approach - of maximising efficiency and yield. However that system is utterly dependent on cheap fossil fuels and never having to be held accountable for environmental degradation and other impacts. One the most under-acknowledged but astonishing impacts is on the global climate. "It is fair to say that between 45 and 50 percent of all human emissions of global warming gases come from the current form of food production," De Shutter says. Climate-damaging emissions from industrial agriculture are more than just carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. They include massive amounts of the super-heating greenhouse gases like methane from animals and nitrous oxide from chemical fertiliser. Add in deforestation - which is mostly done to increase farmland or plantations - and thatâs around a third of all emissions. Now add on the emissions from food processing and the long distance transport of foods around the world and it comes close to half of all human emissions. The food system doesnât have to be a major source of emissions, the problem is just the way we have designed it around cheap fossil fuel energy, he said. Eco-farming can produce more food for the worldâs poorest people, while also resulting in a fraction of the emissions. It can even store carbon in the soil. The international movement of millions of small-scale peasant farmers called La Via Campesina have been trying to make the same point since at least 2009. "Peasant farmers from La Via Campesina and others can help cool the planet," Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, a Haitian farmer told IPS. "The evidence is irrefutable. If we can change the way we farm and the way we produce and distribute food, then we have a powerful solution for combating the climate crisis," said Henk Hobbelink, coordinator of GRAIN, an international non-governmental organisation that produced a report in 2009 showing that industrial agriculture was by far the biggest source of climate- disrupting emissions of greenhouse gases. "There are no technical hurdles to achieving these results, it is only a matter of political will," Hobbelink told IPS. Trade, economic and agricultural policies are all skewed in favour of the current industrial food production system. And many of those policies are pushing small farmers - the ones who are by far the most efficient in terms of carbon emissions and energy use according to GRAIN - off the land. De Shutter says the techniques and benefits of agro-ecology are now well established, so his role is to push governments to change policies and support the transformation of food production. His report offers policy- relevant recommendations for countries, such as increasing public funding for research and training. Agro-ecology is knowledge-intensive and farmers donât have access to training except in a few countries like Brazil and Benin. "Private companies will not invest time and money in practices that cannot be rewarded by patents and which donât open markets for chemical products or improved seeds," De Shutter said. "If we don't radically transform the direction of the global food system we will never feed the billion who are hungry," De Shutter warns. "Nor will we be able to feed ourselves in the future."   Water Now More Valuable Than Oil? Savvy Investors and Successful Companies are Turning Water Into Gold By Larry West, About.com Guide The most valuable commodity in the world today, and likely to remain so for much of this century, is not oil, not natural gas, not even some type of renewable energy. Itâs waterâclean, safe, fresh water. Follow the Money When you want to spot emerging trends, always follow the money. Today, many of the worldâs leading investors and most successful companies are making big bets on water. Do a little research, and itâs easy to see why. There simply isnât enough freshwater to go around, and the situation is expected to get worse before it gets better. According to Bloomberg News, the worldwide scarcity of usable water worldwide already has made water more valuable than oil. The Bloomberg World Water Index, which tracks 11 utilities, has returned 35 percent to investors every year since 2003, compared with 29 percent for oil and gas stocks and 10 percent for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. "There is only one direction for water prices at the moment, and that's up," said Hans Peter Portner, who manages a $2.9 billion US Water Fund at Pictet Asset Management in Geneva, according to a report by Bloomberg News. The value of the fund increased 26 percent in 2005, and Portner expects water to provide 8 percent annual returns through 2020. Freshwater Becoming More Scarce The United Nations estimates that by 2050 more than two billion people in 48 countries will lack sufficient water. Approximately 97 percent to 98 percent of the water on planet Earth is saltwater (the estimates vary slightly depending on the source). Much of the remaining freshwater is frozen in glaciers or the polar ice caps. Lakes, rivers and groundwater account for about 1 percent of the worldâs potentially usable freshwater. If global warming continues to melt glaciers in the polar regions, as expected, the supply of freshwater may actually decrease. First, freshwater from the melting glaciers will mingle with saltwater in the oceans and become too salty to drink. Second, the increased ocean volume will cause sea levels to rise, contaminating freshwater sources along coastal regions with seawater. Complicating matters even further is that 95 percent of the worldâs cities continue to dump raw sewage into rivers and other freshwater supplies, making them unsafe for human consumption. The Need for Freshwater is Increasing Rapidly Yet, while freshwater supplies are at best static, and at worst decreasing, the worldâs population is growing rapidly. The United Nations estimates that the world populationâapproximately 6.5 billion in 2006âwill grow to 9.4 billion by 2050. The cost of water is usually set by government agencies and local regulators. Water isn't traded on commodity exchanges, but many utilities stocks are publicly traded. Meanwhile, investments in companies that provide desalinization, and other processes and technologies that may increase the worldâs supply of freshwater, are growing rapidly. Companies Investing in Water General Electric Chairman Jeffrey Immelt said the scarcity of clean water around the world will more than double GEâs revenue from water purification and treatment by 2010âto a total of $5 billion. GEâs strategy is for its water division to invest in desalinization and purification in countries that have a shortage of freshwater. Saudi Arabia is expected to invest more than $80 billion in desalinization plants and sewer facilities by 2025 to meet the needs of its growing population. And while China is home to 20 percent of the worldâs people, only 7 percent of the planetâs freshwater supply is located there. "This will be a big and growing market for a long time," Immelt said at the GE annual meeting in Philadelphia in April 2006. More on Water <A href="http://environment.about.com/b/2007/05/17/global-water-supply-drying-up-as-population-grows.htm">Global Water Supply Drying Up as Population Grows</A> <A href="http://environment.about.com/od/environmentalevents/a/waterdayqa.htm">A Billion People Worldwide Lack Safe Drinking Water</A> <A href="http://www.care2.com/news/member/458484226/141847">Tap Water in 42 States Contaminated by Chemicals</A> Suggested Reading <A href="http://environment.about.com/od/earthtalkcolumns/a/chlorine.htm">Why is Chlorine Added to Tap Water?</A> <A href="http://www.ewg.org/agmag/more-than-half-of-us-streams-polluted-epa/">More Than Half of U.S. Streams Polluted</A> <A href="http://environment.about.com/od/waterpollution/a/canadasewage.htm">Canada Takes Crap for Flushing Raw Sewage Into the Ocean</A>   What Would You Pay to Work on the Farm? With the end of school around the corner, the options for summer camp have gotten endlessly niche: there's rock-star camp, circus-arts camp, Hollywood-stunt camp. But in what may be a backlash to the glitz of it all, the hippest new kid on the block is the lowly farm camp, with tilling the earth now seen as a wholesome and character-building respite from video games and texting. The American Camp Association (ACA) has surveyed its members to report that 83% of day and resident camps have added gardening activities in the past five years, and 19% have launched farming and ranching programs, which include raising animals. "People think kids intuitively wouldn't be interested," says CEO Peg Smith. "But we're seeing the pendulum swing back." Outside Seattle, Shoofly Farm is already sold out, with 600 kids signed up for 10 sessions chock-full of "care and fun with farm animals" and "preparation of their own snacks and outdoor cooking" (think hand-cranked ice cream and eggs sizzled in cast-iron pans over the fire) â in other words, what earlier generations considered work. Across the country, in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture offers a similar camp that includes morning chores as a significant chunk of the program. (See pictures of urban farming around the world.) At Stone Barns, kids are put to use collecting eggs, feeding pigs, filling water troughs and harvesting green beans that are incorporated into a camp dish or sold at an on-site market. They might make felt soap, using colorful wool from the farm's sheep to create an artsy washcloth that wraps around a bar of soap and shrinks along with it; or perform a skit about pollination, with campers playing the role of various and sundry bees. "We don't come up with a cute activity just because it seems like a good idea," says Judy Fink, Stone Barns' education programs director. "Everything is focused on what's happening at the farm." So in early July, campers harvest garlic; in August, they pick tomatoes. "Many of these kids don't get dirty, so getting dirty is really cool," Fink adds. Becoming one with the land isn't cheap: parents plunk down $460 a week at Shoofly Farm and $400 at Stone Barns â more than double some other day camps. But it's old-fashioned fun that stands in stark contrast to the virtual world; instead of playing Farmville, the popular Facebook game, they live it, grooming horses and mucking out stables and popping popcorn in coffee cans over a fire when the munchies strike. (See pictures of farming in Nebraska.) "It's like an antidote to technology," says Jill Haase, who owns Shoofly in Sammamish, Wash., about half an hour from Seattle. "Kids are clamoring to be free. They relax. You can see their minds slow down." Two years ago, Chris Butler packed her daughter, now 11, and â last year â her son, now 13, off to Shoofly in an attempt to pry them from their beloved Xbox. "They came home big-eyed," says Butler, from Fall City, Wash. "There's bunnies and chicks and goats, and they're muddy and making ice cream and tie-dye shirts." Of course, no one's naive enough to think that a week swapping out chicken-coop bedding is going to turn kids away from tech. Notes Mara Flanagan, Stone Barns' marketing manager: "For the most part, we don't get cell-phone reception here, so it kind of helps." Source: <A href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2071723,00.html">www.time.com</A></DIV>

PEI Project Expo Tonight Nov 17

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:43:00 GMT

<DIV>TONIGHT!</DIV> <DIV> Hope to see you there. <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.6148" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </DIV> <DIV> PEI ADAPT COUNCIL PROJECT EXPO  <o:p></o:p> âEmerging Pathways for<o:p></o:p> Island Agricultureâ<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> 7PM Thursday, November 17, 2011<o:p></o:p> At the Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Join the PEI Adapt Council as we celebrate a few of the many successful project outcomes that illustrate âEmerging Pathways for Island Agricultureâ<o:p></o:p><PRE>Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) provides funding to the ADAPT Council to enable producers to seize opportunities, </PRE><PRE>respond to new and emerging issues, and test solutions to new and ongoing issues<o:p></o:p></PRE><PRE><o:p> </o:p></PRE>                 Project                                                Organization                 Farm Technician Program                       PEI Agriculture Sector Council                 PEI Traditional Beef                              Atlantic Beef Products Inc.                 Click Beetle/Wireworm Control               PEI Horticulture Assn.                 White Mold Potatoes/Soy                       PEI Soil & Crop Imp Assn.                 Brand Reinvigoration                              PEI Potato Board                 Value Chain Coordination                        PEI ADAPT                 Biochar Potential                                    Soil Foodweb                 IPM Methodology                                  PEI Horticulture Assn.                 Heritage Apples &                 High Production Trellis Systems              Kevin Garvey                 Pet Food Opportunities                           PEI Agr. Sector Council<o:p></o:p><PRE><o:p> </o:p>For more information call: 902 368-2005</PRE></DIV>

ADAPT Council Project Expo Nov 17, 7:00 p.m.

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:11:00 GMT

<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.6148" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> <DIV> PEI ADAPT COUNCIL PROJECT EXPO  <o:p></o:p> âEmerging Pathways for<o:p></o:p> Island Agricultureâ<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> 7PM Thursday, November 17, 2011<o:p></o:p> At the Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Join the PEI Adapt Council as we celebrate a few of the many successful project outcomes that illustrate âEmerging Pathways for Island Agricultureâ<o:p></o:p><PRE>Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) provides funding to the ADAPT Council to enable producers to seize opportunities, </PRE><PRE>respond to new and emerging issues, and test solutions to new and ongoing issues<o:p></o:p></PRE><PRE><o:p> </o:p></PRE>                 Project                                                Organization                 Farm Technician Program                       PEI Agriculture Sector Council                 PEI Traditional Beef                              Atlantic Beef Products Inc.                 Click Beetle/Wireworm Control               PEI Horticulture Assn.                 White Mold Potatoes/Soy                       PEI Soil & Crop Imp Assn.                 Brand Reinvigoration                              PEI Potato Board                 Value Chain Coordination                        PEI ADAPT                 Biochar Potential                                    Soil Foodweb                 IPM Methodology                                  PEI Horticulture Assn.                 Heritage Apples &                 High Production Trellis Systems              Kevin Garvey                 Pet Food Opportunities                           PEI Agr. Sector Council<o:p></o:p><PRE><o:p> </o:p>For more information call: 902 368-2005</PRE><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-no-proof: yes">           </DIV>

PEI ADAPT Agri-News Message

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:53:00 GMT

<IMG src="http://peiadapt.com/adapt_logo.gif" align=right> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.6148" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> <DIV> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR> <DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR></DIR> <HR align=left width="0%" SIZE=1> PEI ADAPT Council Agri-Newsletter Vol. X; No. 11; October 27, 2011 In This Issue: PEI ADAPT Council Project Expo, âEmerging Pathways for Island Agricultureâ The Golden Days of the PEI Apples Bringing the Heat The PEI Pepper Crop is In Island Farmer Featured in the Globe and Mail     PEI ADAPT COUNCIL PROJECT EXPO âEmerging Pathways for Island Agricultureâ 7PM Thursday, November 17, 2011 Farm Centre, 420 University Avenue The PEI ADAPT Council invites you to our Project Expo, The leaders of several projects , supported by the PEI ADAPT Council, will give a brief presentation highlighting their progress and accomplishments. They will also describe the potential benefits their undertakings may have for the agriculture industry and all of Prince Edward Island. REGISTRATION IS FREE and is open to anyone with an interest in the future of the Islandâs agricultural and agri-food production. However, pre-registration is necessary as space is limited. Refreshments will be provided. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) provides funding to the ADAPT Council to enable producers to seize opportunities, respond to new and emerging issues, and test solutions to new and ongoing issues For more information call 902-368-2005 or Email: <A href="mailto:phil@peiadapt.com">phil@peiadapt.com</A>   The Golden Days of the PEI Apples Ever heard of the Inkerman apple? For most people, the answer is no. However, at the turn of the 20th century, it was winning awards in shows throughout North America and Europe and it appeared poised to give Canadaâs best known variety, the MacIntosh, a run for its money. The Inkerman was bred right here on PEIâperhaps the most famous of a handful of varieties developed here that have since gone out of production. While apples may not be the first crop that comes to mind for PEI, Kevin Garvey said over 60 varieties were being grown here in the early 1900âs. He knows his topic well. With funding help from the PEI ADAPT Council, he set out to rediscover Island heritage varieties that may have commercial value today. The result is a book and a DVD with an interactive database of every apply variety ever grown in the province. During the 2010 growing season, he crossed the province, talking to current apply growers and trying to locate the remnants of any historical varieties. Each variety was photographed and the database contains details about each variety both past and present. Garvey is now experimenting with various trellis systems to demonstrate and evaluate the economics of these potentially high yielding production systems. "So far, it is working out pretty good but we have to get through at least one more growing season before we start to get a good picture," he said. Garvey explained the system will allow a grower to increase production without the need for additional landâa key factor if the industry is to grow. He said it also allows a grower to determine more quickly whether a variety seems suited to Island conditions or not. "Bringing back some historical varieties could be a risky proposition since the Island climate has changed significantly over the last century," Garvey said. "I wanted to point out that apples have a long history on PEIâmany Islanders and visitors donât know the variety of apples that are grown here. People say to me all the time âthey have orchards here?" Garvey said a growing trend towards industrial agriculture in the 20th century was one of the major factors that contributed to the decline of the apply industry. He added "farming became more specializedâNova Scotia went for apples and we went for potatoes."   Bringing the Heat The PEI Pepper Crop is In Steve Sharratt, The Guardian CARDIGAN â The P.E.I. pepper crop has been harvested and mountains of colour are being turned into a hot sauce that elicits both fear and delight. Didnât think there was an Island pepper crop? Welcome to Maritime Madness, a company that grows, imports and makes a variety of hot sauce sold across the province and across Canada. "We grew 13 varieties of peppers here, including the worldâs hottest pepper, called the ghost pepper,ââ says hot sauce impresario Amiel Leblanc at his pepper-growing operation near Cardigan. To read the full article, click: <A href="http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2011-10-19/article-2780953/Bringing-the-heat/1">âPeppersâ</A>   Island Farmer Featured in the Globe and Mail For this organic farmer, entrepreneurship is a family affair By Mark Evans, Special to Globe and Mail If you look up the word "entrepreneur" in the dictionary, it wouldnât be surprising to see a photo of Stephen Cousins sitting beside it. If there was anyone who epitomizes an entrepreneur, it is Mr. Cousins, who runs Shepherds Farm in Pisquid, P.E.I., about 40 kilometres northeast of Charlottetown. Not only does Mr. Cousins run the 110-acre organic farm with his wife and five children, but he also cooks gourmet dinners for large groups, offers cooking classes, runs a six-bedroom lodge, a retreat centre, offers tours to tourists and school groups and, most recently, started a "Dirt, Dine and Discover" day-camp. Then, thereâs the fast-growing business of supplying organic produce and meat â Berkshire pigs, lamb, turkeys and chickens â to restaurants and markets around P.E.I. But thereâs more. Mr. Cousins is also the president of P.E.I.âs Organic Certified Organic Producers Co-op, which has seen the number of organic farms in the province climb to 63 in the past decade, representing about 7,000 acres. It may sound exhausting, but Mr. Cousins seems to take it all in stride as he enthusiastically conducted a two-hour tour of his farm recently. After spending time with Mr. Cousins, itâs difficult not to get excited about the growth of organic farming and its benefits. This makes him as much a salesman as an entrepreneur. Read the entire story at: <A href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/start/mark-evans/for-this-organic-farmer-entrepreneurship-is-a">Globe and Mail</A> </DIV>