Prince Edward Island Agriculture

1. Prince Edward Island Agriculture Introduction

2. PEI General Agriculture Facts • # 1 industry - followed by tourism • 620,000 acres (approx.) out of possible 1.4 million • Generated $400 million in total farm cash receipts in 2010 • 1700 farms* (2006 census) • Farms are family owned and operated

3. PEI General Agriculture Facts • Average farm size - 350 acres • Average farm capital- $869,985 • 16% of Island’s workforce • 4.5% of Islanders are farmers (higher than national average of 2.4%) • Our entire economy affected by agriculture

4. Potato Production Food Country - The Family Farm

5. Potato Production • 360 Farms (84,500 acres) • Commodity generating the highest farm cash receipts • PEI Potato Board • 3 sectors • Table - 30% of total acreage • Seed - 10% of total acreage • Processing - 60% of total acreage

6. Potato Harvest Rick Mercer – Harvesting Potatoes

7. Dairy Production

8. Dairy Production • Stable- Supply Management • a marketing system where producers control the production (supply) of a particular commodity (product). • 200 dairy farms • 15,000 dairy cows (11,666 in production) • Holstein most popular breed • Most herds have purebred and registered cattle Milking a Cow

9. Dairy Production • Average herd size is 60 cows • Average production per cow is 8,500 liters per year (100 glasses/day) • Quota Price $28,000 • Annual milk production exceeds 101 million liters • Dairy Farmers of PEI • Breeding stock sold throughout world

10. Beef Production Beef Operation Charolais Hereford Shorthorn Shorthorn

11. Beef Production • 35% of all farms (approx. 450 farms) • 2 sectors: Cow/calf and Feedlot • feeders marketed annually • Average herd size 40 head • Beef plant - Atlantic Beef Products Inc.-located in Borden/Carleton • Co-op Atlantic Tender Beef Classic brand • PEI Cattle Producers

12. Hog Production • 25 farms – bio security procedures • 2 sectors • Weaner production ( up to 30 lbs) • Finishing production ( up to 200 lbs) • 89,310 pigs marketed in 2010, 13 million in farm cash receipts • Industry is in transition/crisis • The Hog Farm Transition Program

13. Swine Breeds Landrace Duroc Yorkshire Hampshire

14. Vegetable Production

15. Vegetable Production • 110 farms (excluding potato farms) • 2000 acres • Carrots (665 acres) • Rutabagas/turnip (510 acres) • Brocolli (200 acres) • Cauliflower (200 acres) • Cabbage (175 acres) • Onions (100 acres)

16. Vegetable Production • Smaller acres of: • Lettuce (40 acres) • Pumpkins (25 acres) • Cucumber (15 acres) • Beans (15 acres) • Peppers (12 acres) • Garlic (10 acres) • Beets (5 acres) • Tomatoes (5 acres)

17. Local fresh markets Organic market Processing (Island Quality Vegetables Inc.) High labour requirement Growing interest in processing crops Vegetable Production Food Country - Brookfield Gardens

18. Eggs and Poultry • Supply-managed commodities • 2 sectors • Eggs • Meat poultry • In 2010, 8 producers averaged 3.398 million dozen eggs • 1.611 million eggs were consumed on PEI, 1.785 went to breaking plants in Ontario & Quebec • 10 producers producing chicken and turkey Meet a Canadian Egg Farmer

19. The Fur Breeders • 12 mink farms • Produce pelts for European market (volatile world economy makes it hard to predict future markets) • pelting equipment is automated and computerized and the animals are euthanized painlessly using the most humane method, in a carbon monoxide chamber. • The PEI Fur Breeders Association

20. Fruit Production • Largest acreage of commercial fruit crops is lowbush blueberries (13,000 acres, 10 million lbs.) • Smaller acres of strawberries & raspberries • Increasing interest in commercial cranberry bogs • Strawberry nursery stock exported to US • 20,000 apple trees in production • UPEI and AgriFood Canada are both conducting research around the health benefits of rose hips

21. Organic Production • 55 certified organic producers • 3 years since last application of synthetic chemicals and fertilizer • 2000 acres currently certified • Crops and livestock • Local market- Farmers Market • Market demand is increasing • CSA – Community Shared Agriculture Charlottetown Farmers Market

22. Forage Production • Over 135,000 acres of hay yielding about 2 ton/acre • Species of grass/legumes grown • Red clover • Alfalfa • Timothy • Stored as hay or silage

23. Forage Production alfalfa red clover timothy

24. Forage Production • weight of a 4 X 4 round bale is between 800-1000 pounds • cost of a round bale is between $15 - $20 • one bale will feed 10 beef cows a day

25. Grains & Oilseed Production • Largest group of crops (139,000 acres) • Most grain fed to livestock • Grown in rotation with potato crops • 77,000 acres of wheat, oats, barley and mixed grain, grain corn • Soybeans (55,000 +, for overseas market 1/3 to Japan for tofu) • New opportunities in fuel production Food vs. Fuel

26. Cereal Production • Smaller amounts of rye and milling wheat grown (for flour production) • Harvesting begins in mid-August and ends in early October • Straw is baled (square or round) for bedding

27. Sustainable Farming • “We don’t own the land, we borrow it from our children.” • Farming in a sustainable manner • Enhanced Environmental Farm Plan • Watercourse Buffer Zones • Agricultural Crop Rotation Act • ALUS Program