30 Jan Agronomy Update – Jan 30
Hi everyone,
I felt like January went by at rocket-speed! We are fully into the heart of “meeting season,” with lots of events, workshops and meetings taking place.
A big thanks to those that came out to our AIM Winter Workshops last week. We had a great turnout at all three meetings, with lots of good questions and discussion. If you missed it and would like to check out my presentation, there is a PDF version of my slides as well as videos from the last workshop in Montague linked on the Agronomy Site under Seminar/Workshop Presentations. It was also great to connect with a number of growers at the PPC District meetings this week which were also well attended.
International Potato Tech Expo – February 26th and 27th
If you haven’t already registered for the Potato Expo at the end of February, you can register today at no cost!
The speaker line-up has been announced, and we have some great topics and speakers to share with you!
Thursday, Feb 26th:
- Common Scab Mitigation with Biopesticides – Ryan Barrett, PEI Potato Board
- Irrigation Technology Panel – reps from 46 Ag, HJV Equipment and Van den Bussche Irrigation
- Marketing Potatoes through Public Engagement – Tyler Heppell (Potato Ty), BC.
- Tyler has hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram and Tik Tok, sharing his family’s potato farm and packing operation!
- Canada/USA Potato Market Outlook – Victoria Stamper, UPGC
Friday, Feb 27th:
- Farm Scale Evaluation of Regen Ag Practices – Leigh Hunter, McCain Farm of the Future
- Drone Uses in Potato Production – Chad Mooney and Evan MacDonald
- AI in Agriculture & Small Business – Robert Newcombe, AI-First Consulting, NS
- Robert comes from a multi-generational farm family in the Annapolis Valley and has a degree in engineering, as well as building his own business consulting on AI integration into many businesses, including agriculture
- PVY Detection using AI – Aitazaz Farooque, UPEI
On the evening of Thursday, Feb 26th, the Board and the Dept of Agriculture will be hosting a social evening with some munchies and a cash bar upstairs at Red Shores in the 1888 Lounge. A chance to chat and relax after the first day of the show. Stay tuned for additional details!
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PEI Soil & Crop Improvement Assoc./Cereals & Oilseed Meeting – March 4-5
The PEISCIA and PEI Dept of Agriculture are once again partnering on their annual conference, with the Soil & Crop agenda taking place on Wed, March 4th and the Cereals & Oilseeds conference on Thurs, Mar 5th at Credit Union Place in Summerside.
Some highlight speakers for me:
- Two presentations from Brian Dougherty, a farmer and regenerative ag specialist from Iowa.
- Aaron Breimer, agronomist from SW Ontario speaking on turning data into value for farmers
- Josh Linville from the USA, talking about how global markets affect fertilizer prices
- Stewart Skinner, hog farmer and ag professional from Ontario on building resilience in the “age of algorithms.”
- Plus a lot more great speakers and topics!
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Dal AC Career Fair – February 12th
I will be attending the Dal AC Aggie WIL Career Fair on February 12th in Truro on behalf of the Board. If you are a grower or dealer who is looking for summer students or new hires and you have a job description you want to send along, I’d be happy to include it at our table. Contact me for additional information.
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Other Upcoming Meetings/Workshops/Conferences:
February 5 New Brunswick Potato Conference, Woodstock
February 26-27 International Potato Tech Expo, Charlottetown
March 4 PEISCIA Conference, Summerside
March 5 PEI Cereals & Oilseeds Conference, Summerside
March 10 AIM Local Workshops, Emerald (AM) and Fox Island (PM)
March 11 AIM Local Workshops, Montague (AM)
March 24-25 Northeast Potato Tech Forum, Charlottetown
Have a great weekend,
Ryan