News/Events - December 2015

12
15
2015

Beautiful Corn Harvest!

The Kanienkeha:ka (Mohawk) Flint Corn Seed-Saving & Education Project has wound up for the season.

Kanienkeha:ka (Mohawk) Flint Corn Seed-Saving & Education Project

In 2015, this project engaged over fifty volunteers, one hundred youth, and over one hundred Trent students. Together we:

  • built 44 mounds for the three sisters (corn, squash and beans);
  • planted 4,000 corn seeds from four distinct landraces of white flint corn;
  • hand pollinated hundreds of cobs;
  • harvested and braided thousands of cobs;
  • held a corn lying workshop;
  • and feasted on fabulous foods!

Partners Farms at Work and TRACKS (TRent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Science Initiative) want to thank everyone involved, and especially Haudenosaunee grower Ieiérhes Karolyn Givogue Grant (who camped out to get the hand pollination finished!), and amazing go-to Trent student Nikki Auten, who has simply done everything possible over the last few months to support the project's success.

Plans are underway for 2016! If you can help, let us know.

Note: If you want to read more about this project, search for "corn" on this site!

12
14
2015

Farm Work Job Fair: Register Now!

Farm Work Job Fair

Looking for on-farm work experience? Need to hire staff for the 2016 season?

Then join us on Friday January 15, 2016 in Peterborough for east central Ontario's first ever Farm Work Job Fair for the opportunity to meet and network with employers and job seekers from across the farming community.

Presented by Farms at Work, Employment Planning & Counselling, and the Trent University Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems Society, with the support of the Agricultural Management Institute, the job fair will include a workshop session where speakers will provide helpful tips for employers and job seekers, including:

  • Strategies for developing strong working relationships and avoiding pitfalls from a panel of successful farm employers
  • The Top 10 things to know about Employment Standards for Agricultural Workers in Ontario

This event is free for Job Seekers and $20 for employers (which includes booth space). Pre-registration is required as seating and booth space are limited. Sign up today using the form below, or visit farmworkjobfair.eventbrite.ca for more info. 

 

12
09
2015

Pasture Potential Workshop: A Great Success!

Pasture Potential Workshop Group

This past Monday, 70 people crowded into a room at the Day's Inn in Lindsay for our exciting Pasture Potential workshop. The main draw was Laura Paine, who has had a varied career in academia, government, non-profit and the business sector in Wisconsin. She presented a fascinating series of studies on pasture utilization and factors influencing bird survival. Ron Reid of the Couchiching Conservancy talked about pasture renovation on the Carden Plain.

In the afternoon, presentations included detailed case studies on how local farming cooperatives can be an effective tool for marketing beef. 

Thank you to all our wonderful presenters, and to everyone who came out and participated in this insightful workshop. We were all certainly left with plenty of food for thought, and everyone was well-fed too!

Thanks also to our co-hosts, the Couchiching Conservancy, and to our sponsors, Kawartha Conservation, Century 21, and the Peterborough County Cattlemens' Association.