Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa announces the province’s next horseracing sector funding agreement March 23 at Hamilton’s Flamboro Downs. (OntarioRacing.com)

Ontario ponies up for two decades of horseracing

The Ontario government has put its next funding plan for the province’s horseracing sector on a substantially longer track. The provincial government on Friday announced a funding agreement providing the sector with $105 million a year for 19 years starting April 1, 2019, to replace the five-year, $100 million-per-year Horse Racing Partnership Funding Program in […] Read more

Andre Corbould (centre), shown here briefing then-Governor General Michaelle Jean (r) in Whistler, B.C. during the 2010 Olympics, is Alberta’s new deputy agriculture minister. (GG.ca)

Alberta names new deputy ag minister

Alberta’s deputy provincial environment minister, a civil engineer and 28-year veteran of the Canadian Forces, has been named the province’s new top agriculture bureaucrat. Premier Rachel Notley on Tuesday put through an order in council appointing Andre Corbould as Alberta’s deputy minister of agriculture and forestry effective Wednesday, replacing Beverly Yee. Corbould, the province’s deputy […] Read more


Case of equine infectious anemia found in Alberta

Case of equine infectious anemia found in Alberta

The potentially fatal equine disease can be hard to spot but horse owners should be on guard

Reading Time: 2 minutes Horse owners are being warned to be on the watch after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) recently confirmed a case of equine infectious anemia in Strathcona County. But the federally reportable disease can be hard to spot, the Office of the Chief Provincial Veterinarian said in a news release. “Infected animals may show few […] Read more

Fatty acids as far as the eye can see. Abundant sources of balanced fats for horses are found in fresh grasses and forage.

Feeding man-made fats to horses has negative consequences

Horse Health: Too much of a good thing can cause a myriad of problems for horse health

Reading Time: 3 minutes Over the past two decades feeding a variety of fat and oil sources to horses has become an increasingly commonplace dietary practice. The role of fat in the horse’s diet has been oversimplified to that as a fuel source. Although this is partly correct that fats can act as fuel molecules, it is equally critical […] Read more



(Portosdobrasil.gov.br via Flickr)

Trade bloc Mercosur, Canada launch talks for trade deal

Asuncion| Reuters — South American trade bloc Mercosur formally launched discussions for a trade deal with Canada on Friday, in a move officials said would signal an embrace of free trade at a time other countries are moving toward protectionist policies. For Canada, the talks with the group, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, […] Read more


Slow feeders come in all shapes and sizes but all are designed to even out a horse’s food consumption.

The numerous benefits of slow feeding to the horse

Horse Health: Because of the way their digestive tract works, horses need 
to eat low-energy forages nearly constantly

Reading Time: 3 minutes Horses are trickle or slow feeders by nature. This means that they are biologically wired to thrive when they are continuously collecting and eating small amounts of long-stem high-fibre forage. This most basic realization is instrumental in keeping the horse healthy. Forage is the foundation of every horse’s diet, and the forage needs to flow […] Read more



Glacier FarmMedia launches Farmtario

Glacier FarmMedia launches Farmtario

Canada’s largest publisher of farm magazines and newspapers has cultivated a new source of news for farmers in Ontario. Launched Wednesday at the London Farm Show, Farmtario will be a biweekly print publication starting April 30. Its website, Farmtario.com, is available immediately. “We see a bright future for Ontario agriculture and we’re proud to announce […] Read more

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer take part in a joint news conference on the closing of the seventh round of NAFTA talks in Mexico City. (Photo: Reuters/Edgard Garrido)

U.S. pushes NAFTA talks pace, warns of political headwinds

Mexico City | Reuters — Mexican and U.S. officials pushed on Monday to speed up NAFTA negotiations, with the U.S. floating the idea of reaching an agreement “in principle” in coming weeks to avoid political headwinds later this year. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, showing impatience at the slow pace of the talks, said Mexico’s […] Read more