1. Prince Edward Island Agriculture
Introduction

2. PEI General Agriculture Facts
# 1 industry - followed by tourism
575,000 acres (approx.) out of possible 1.4 million
Generated $400 million in total farm cash receipts in 2010
1353 farms
Farms are family owned and operated

3. PEI General Agriculture Facts
Average farm size acres
Average farm capital- $869,985
16% of Island’s workforce
3.7% 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 (88,000 acres)
Over the last five years farm cash receipts values have ranged from $233 to $249 million annually.
PEI Potato Board
3 sectors
Table - 30% of total acreage
Seed - 10% of total acreage
Processing (frozen products, chips- 60% of total acreage

6. Potato Harvest
Rick Mercer – Harvesting Potatoes

7. Dairy Production

8. Dairy Production Stable- Supply Management 165 dairy farms
a marketing system where producers control the production (supply) of a particular commodity (product).
165 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 (20-300)
Average production per cow is 8,500 liters per year (100 glasses/day)
Quota Price $28,000
Annual milk production exceeds 110 million liters
Dairy Farmers of PEI
Breeding stock sold throughout world

10. Beef Production
Beef Operation
Hereford
Charolais
Shorthorn
Shorthorn

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

12. Hog Production 20 farms – bio security procedures 2 sectors
Weaner production ( up to 30 lbs)
Finishing production ( up to 200 lbs)
66,000 pigs
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. Vegetable Production Local fresh markets Organic market
Processing (Island Quality Vegetables Inc.)
High labour requirement
Growing interest in processing crops
Food Country - Brookfield Gardens

18. Eggs and Poultry Supply-managed commodities 2 sectors Eggs
Meat poultry
In 2010, 8 producers averaged million dozen eggs
7 egg farmers producing 3.72 million eggs annually
10 producers producing chicken (7.5 million broilers) and turkey (15,000)
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)
11.3 million ,000 pelts
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
6,000 colonies of bees for pollination services

21. Organic Production 60 certified organic producers
3 years since last application of synthetic chemicals and fertilizer
2200 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 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
180,000 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