March arrives with hopes of less frigid temperatures and snowy blasts compared to what the last two months have favoured us with. Bright side — We’re seeing the days getting longer on both ends and the time ‘Springs Forward’ on Sunday the 10th. With freeze-thaw temperatures persisting, barnyards are bouncing between muddy messes and frozen ridges and careful eyes must be kept on water-bowls and waterlines to ensure the de-icers are doing their job.
Winter birds are ever-thankful for the seed and peanuts set out in the feeders for them. Winter ag meetings are winding down and spring grain, forage and seed orders are in the works. Pasture planning, fertilizer needs and farm maintenance are still on every farmer’s mind. Seed catalogues are available and orders are in for vegetable and flower seeds which is a promise of the spring to come.
March also brings another spring promise — Chick Days! Customers can begin placing orders this month for April pick-up dates and beyond. Find our backyard poultry order forms & price lists with their store pick-up dates on this page, below, and also located on our ‘Poultry’ tab/page.
Let’s all take a moment to appreciate the hard work of our farmers and thank Ontario’s agri-food sector for the incredible bounty of fresh, safe & nutritious food we get to enjoy everyday 🙂
Chicks & Turkeys — Day-Old — 2019 Order Form & Price List Download our order form & price list for pricing and pickup dates. Please allow 4+ weeks lead-time on orders for the pick-up date you require.
Ducklings, Goslings, Guinea Keets & Pheasants — Order Form & Price List Download our order form & price list for pricing and pick-up dates. Please allow 5+ weeks lead-time on orders for the pick-up date you require.
READY-TO-LAY CHICKENS: Please check back soon for 2019 pricing for Ready-to-Lay Hens.
We try to bring in a load of ~19-week old ready-to-lay hens roughly once per month from April to October but frequency depends upon order volume numbers, hen availability and delivery truck scheduling.
— Please Note: For Ready-to-Lay Hen orders, we are unable to provide a pre-determined/set pick-up date as it’s not an exact science to know when our orders will arrive at our store. Place an order for your desired month’s waiting list and we will contact you when we know when order pick-up date to our store will be — You can decide then if the date works for you.
Unfortunately, we don’t carry birds over to after scheduled pick-up date — Hens must be picked up on the day they arrive at our store.
***Please note: New policy that payment is due when ordering for all Backyard Poultry Orders.
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BACKYARD BIRDS:
For feeding your feathered friends, we have all the bird feeders, feed, peanuts, suet and other backyard wildlife supplies to keep them visiting your back yard. Follow this link: ‘YOUR BIRDS & WILDLIFE’ to visit our page where you’ll find valuable information on both hosting and deterring backyard wildlife.
BACKYARD WILDLIFE:
For those who enjoy seeing deer graze on their property, Wright’s Feeds ‘N Needs manufactures their own custom Deer Mix that will attract deer to visit plus we stock whole corn, grains, deer & salt blocks.
**Watch for our custom deer mix available during fall & winter seasons when there is less access to food for deer in the wild.
LAWN & GARDEN:
THINGS TO DO THIS MONTH — with excerpts from gardening gurus Mark & Ben Cullen’s Newsletter
It’s time to prune apple trees, thinning out old, thick branches and dead wood to open up the tree for spring. Read our recent Toronto Star column about this topic. 
Buy garden seeds or look in your area to find out about Seedy Saturdays and Seed Exchanges, which are a great way to find heritage varieties and meet local growers. If you’re going to buy your seed from a seed company or retailer, it’s still early enough to get a broad selection. 
Before the end of the month, you can begin starting your cooler season crops such as onion, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower and kale which are okay to transplant up to a month before last frost. It helps to protect them with a row cover. Starting seeds in March is a good opportunity to lengthen your growing season.
Start your dahlia bulbs inside using 1-gallon pots and a quality potting mix, which will give you a jump on their blooming season. Dahlia bulbs are available now and you should get them while the selection is at its best.
Feed the birds — Use a quality seed mix so that it does not get wasted and you attract quality birds. Birds wintering in the south will be on their way back over the next month or so clean your feeders again and fill with Wright’s Premium Wild Bird Seed — Birds love it! Also available are sunflower seed, safflower seed, peanuts (both in and out of the shell), nyjer seed, lots of varieties of suet, corn cobs and lots of feeders for all types of backyard birds.
Participate in Project Feeder Watch –FeederWatch is a winter-long (November-April) survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locales in North America. Participants periodically count the birds they see at their feeders and send their counts to Project FeederWatch. Your bird counts help you keep track of what is happening in your own backyard and help scientists track long-term trends in bird distribution and abundance. With FeederWatch, your observations become part of something bigger. Click here to join.
GARDEN HOW-TO VIDEOS:
Canada’s gardening gurus, Mark Cullen & son, Ben, had a great time shooting new videos in the garden. Here are a few gardening videos that will inform and entertain you — Check them out:
How-To Deadhead Annuals and Perennials
The Benefits of Mulch
Plant Selection for the East Side of Your Home
News and Events:
Congratulations to Jordan and Alex McKay of Willowtree Farm for being named both Canada’s and Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers!
Brothers Jordan and Alex McKay were recently selected as Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2018 for their work at Willowtree Farm in Port Perry. Jordan and Alex developed unique ways to sell and use their produce in their year-round market and have designed the market to tell a story about buying local food. For more information, visit WillowTreeFarm.ca.
Video: The real dirt on farming in Clarington
The Clarington Board of Trade produced a a home-grown, engaging video to highlight agriculture in Clarington. Told by members of the Clarington agriculture community, the video describes the realities and rewards of farming as a business and as a passion. The video aims to inspire and encourage viewers to learn more about the importance of farming. To view the video, visit youtube.com.
The Region of Durham Agricultural Strategy set for an update, with highlighted focus on current issues in the agriculture and agri-food sectors
Vibrant North Durham Strategy update
The Vibrant North Durham Economic Development Plan 2013 to 2018 (the Plan) was developed in partnership with the Region of Durham and the Townships of Scugog, Uxbridge and Brock (north Durham) to maximize opportunities to build a strong and resilient economy. An updated Plan and individual Township Action Plans are required to reflect the changing economic environment of north Durham, updated planning legislation, changes to workforce standards and new political environments. Over the coming months, staff will be reaching out to north Durham businesses and organizations to gather their input and feedback on updating the Plan. To learn more, contact Stacey Jibb, Rural Economic Development Co-ordintor at Stacey.Jibb@durham.ca.
The Durham Region 5 Million Trees Program is part of the Durham Community Climate Change Local Action Plan, with the goal of increasing forest cover in the region by approximately 2,800 hectares. To be eligible, landowners must have 2.5 acres of non-agricultural land to plant. Forests Ontario plants the trees at a highly subsidized rate and checks their survival at various intervals in the following few years. Learn more about Durham Region’s 5 Million Trees Program.
The On-Farm Childcare Program, offered by Durham Farm and Rural Family Resources (DFRFR), is designed to provide quality child care for farm families who reside in Durham where at least one of the parents’ primary source of income is through a farm operation. The program operates from May to September and allows parents to concentrate on farm work during peak times, without having their children in the workplace. Learn more about the On Farm Childcare Program.
Antimicrobials Resistance Update — 2018
As of December 1, 2018, all Medically Important Antimicrobials (MIAs) for veterinary use will be sold by prescription only. Antimicrobial drugs like antibiotics are important to fight bacterial infections in humans and animals. All medically important antimicrobials will be on the Prescription Drug List – Products for Veterinary Use.
You will need to get a prescription from a veterinarian for your animals for:
Prescription drugs (including, for example, injectables, in-water and in-feed formulations). You will be able to buy these drugs from a veterinarian or pharmacist. Importation rules will continue as per existing Food and Drug Regulations.
Prescription medicated feed – This is livestock feed that contains a prescription drug, including supplements, macro & micro premixes and complete feed. You will be able to buy these medicated feeds from a commercial feed mill, veterinarian or pharmacist with a veterinary prescription.
The Prescription Drug List (PDL) is a list of medicinal ingredients. Any drug containing an ingredient on this list must be sold by prescription. Since 2004, new MIAs approved by Health Canada have been included on the PDL and must be sold by prescription. We are now moving all remaining MIAs approved for veterinary use before 2004 to the PDL. With this change, we establish the same level of oversight for those MIAs approved before 2004 as for those approved after.