Linton Enterprises Inc.

Just a little Saturday potato humour! Enjoy the weekend!

Forgot to post this the other night during the storm all is quiet in the winter!

Promoting NB products for the Holidays is in part thanks to the folks at New Brunswick Potatoes! New Brunswick is blessed with the perfect climate and top...ography for growing flavourful potatoes. Potatoes NB brings together the industry to advocate for positive growth of New Brunswick's most versatile crop. Read more here: https://nbmade.ca/blogs/news/potatoes-nb Do you like potato chowder? Try this delicious recipe from Potatoes NB: https://www.potatorecipes.ca/colcannon-potato-chowder/ - - La promotion des produits du Nouveau-Brunswick pour les Fêtes, est en partie grâce à New Brunswick PotatoesNew Brunswick Potatoes ! Le Nouveau-Brunswick a la chance d'avoir le climat et la topographie parfaits pour la culture de pommes de terre savoureuses. Pommes de terre NB rassemble l'industrie pour défendre la croissance positive de ce produit agricole le plus polyvalent du Nouveau-Brunswick. Lire la suite ici :https://nbmade.ca/blogs/news/potatoes-nb Aimez-vous la chaudrée aux pommes de terre? Essayez cette délicieuse recette de Potatoes NB: https://www.potatorecipes.ca/colcannon-potato-chowder/ #ExcellenceNB #LoveNBLocal

Well after a couple days of hauling we now have a shop to work in! Time to get the equipment and shop cleaned up!

Time as finally come to empty the shop so we can get the equipment wash and ready for winter hibernation!

Operate Farm tractor and other equipment on the farm. Must be willing to do some manual labor as well.

Little farm humour for your Saturday!

It’s Canada Agriculture Day! Let’s celebrate Canadian food and those who produce it, especially right here in New Brunswick! #CdnAgDay

Like father, like son! Another great #MasseyFerguson Halloween costume from over the weekend, courtesy of Michael Baker and his son. Both MF 7724 Series tractors are ready to tackle any job!

Drought devastates upper river valley farms Farmers say existing programs fall short of ag industry needs By Jim Dumville... Even Carleton County oldtimers can’t remember the St. John River water levels as low as they witnessed this summer. At least not since the Mactaquac Dam created the head pond in the late ‘60s. While the exposed remains of the long-flooded Island Park in Woodstock and receding waters under the World’s Longest Covered Bridge created interest and a ready topic of conversation, the situation proved far less upbeat for farmers looking over their dusty fields along the St. John River. Already reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on their planting season and search for farm labour, the last thing farmers needed was one of the worst summer droughts in memory. A Facebook post in early October from northern Carleton County potato farmer Robert Stephenson summed up the harvesting season in a couple of sentences. Worst crop I remember, he wrote. Better stock up on French fries as they may be in short demand come next summer. The 57-year-old Stephenson, a third-generation farmer, can’t remember a summer drought to match this year’s. The 2020 spud yield reflects the drought's impact. ‘We’ve had tough crops but nothing like this, he told the River Valley Sun. Stephenson said the farm’s best field which on average produces 200 to 210 barrels an acre delivered, at best, 160 this year. Some fields he said produced only 75 barrels per acre. He estimated the average at 110 barrels per acre instead of the usual 180 to 190 barrels. He said that could translate into a $200,000 to $210,000 loss in revenue. Provincial rainfall stats show 260 mm of rain fell in Woodstock between May 1 and Sept. 18. That’s far below average. In an average summer, rainfall accumulation would surpass the 260 mm mark sometime in July. Stephenson said his stats at the farm show not much more than 5 inches fell this year. Most years, that number is at least in the 14-inch range. Carleton-Victoria rookie MLA and newly appointed Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries Minister Margaret Johnson, who happens to be Stephenson’s neighbour, finds herself thrown directly into an agricultural crisis. Johnson acknowledges she has a lot to learn in a short time as she wades into the political pool for the first time. It’s like drinking from a fire hose, she said. Johnson praised the department staff for keeping the ship sailing in the right direction as she gets her footing. I can’t say enough about our civil servants, she said. They want me to succeed and are keen to help. While living in the heart of farming country, Johnson said, her direct knowledge of agriculture is purely social, but she fully understands the drought’s negative impact on farmers. She said her department is awaiting the end of harvest season to see the full impact of the lower yield and spud size on potato farmers. Johnson said drought victims are not limited to potato producers. Most farmers are hard hit, she said, including those growing berries, fruit and vegetables. It even affects livestock, she said, noting poor hay and grain crops this year. Across the border, Maine farmers also experienced severe drought conditions. Unlike the Canadian or New Brunswick governments, the U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny :Perdue designated several parts of Maine, including Carleton County neighbouring Aroostook County, a drought disaster area. That designation makes farmers in those counties eligible for emergency assistance. No such designation appears on the horizon for New Brunswick farmers. Johnson said the province will deal with New Brunswick farmers on an individual basis utilizing a trio of Business Risk Management (BRM) programs. BMR consists of the agriInvest, agriStability and agriInsurance programs. Farmers in New Brunswick are very knowledgeable of what’s available to them, said Johnson. Bath-area potato farmer Scott Oakes, also running a multi-generational farm, said he is indeed knowledgeable of the BRM programs, but he’s not impressed. The 50-year-old, who, at 26, took over the farm with his brother following the death of his father, said none of the three available programs will deal with this year’s devastating problems. This is the worst crop I’ve ever seen, said Oakes. He said this is the second weather-related crisis in three years for his farm. In 2018, Oakes said, heavy fall rains, followed by frost devastated his potato crop. He and other farms applied for compensation through the agriRecovery program. He said the 2018 should have triggered a mechanism in which the province provided $4 million. Once triggered, Oakes explained, the federal government committed to providing $8 million bringing the potential available funding to $12 million. Unfortunately, he said,, the provincial government refused to trigger the program releasing the $4 million. Without the program, he explained, the federal’s $8 million disappeared. Even with the estimated $90,000 his farm would have brought in via the program would have fallen far short of his $400,000 in losses during that harvest season. Those losses combined with an approximately 40 per cent loss on this year’s yield delivers a financial hit from which it will be difficult to recover. Oakes said the 2018 losses wiped out five years of profits in a single year. Oakes said many farmers are in the same boat. He predicts a widespread loss of New Brunswick farms if the provincial and federal governments don’t step up to help the potato industry, and New Brunswick agriculture in general. During a recent conversation with Johnson he told her he expects to see the outstanding $12 million farmers are owed from 2018 added to programs to alleviate the 2020 losses. Johnson said she recognizes the plight of farmers, noting she will meet over the next few weeks with farmers, the Agriculture Alliance of New Brunswick and the National Farmers Union of New Brunswick to find short-term and long-term solutions. There’s no easy answers, no quick fix, she said. Photo: Robert Stephenson completes the harvest of the worst crop he can remember. (Submitted photo)