Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the fastest and cheapest ways to dispose of deadstock is to compost them — and you can even do it in winter. “As soon as your compost heats up to 40 C, it doesn’t smell like a carcass anymore… it’s not,” said Kim Stanford, a beef research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. […] Read more
Composting fastest and cheapest way to deal with deadstock
Clock ticking to avoid North American food fight
Winnipeg | Reuters –– The North American spat pitting Canada and Mexico against the U.S. over meat labels has sown confusion among producers and shippers in all three countries, with a trade war potentially just weeks away. The World Trade Organization on Monday authorized Canada and Mexico, the biggest markets for exported U.S. goods, to […] Read more
Parmalat gets GF2 funds for new Winnipeg milk plant
Dairy giant Parmalat is set to get federal and Manitoba government funding toward its planned new $50 million milk plant in Winnipeg. The two levels of government on Tuesday pledged $2.5 million toward the construction of Parmalat’s new dairy plant at an industrial park in the city’s St. Boniface area, about seven km east of […] Read more
N.L. agrifoods file moves to new minister
Newfoundland and Labrador’s Forestry and Agrifoods Agency, which oversees public policy for the province’s livestock, crops and agrifood sectors, is again getting new management. Oversight for the agency, first set up in 2007 by then-natural resources minister Kathy Dunderdale, had been moved in March from the natural resources department to the fisheries and aquaculture department. However, […] Read more
Views mixed on impact of crude’s slip for ag markets
CNS Canada — While just about everyone agrees the plunging price of oil will have a bearish effect on commodity prices, the size and impact of that fall seems to vary. As recently as Nov. 4, crude oil prices were $48.64 a barrel, but since then have fallen to US$37.86, as of Wednesday’s opening. Some […] Read more
U.K. review calls for urgent cuts to antibiotic use in livestock
London | Reuters –– Massive use of antibiotics in farming poses a critical threat to global public health and should be reduced dramatically to an internationally-agreed target, according to a British government-commissioned review. Agreeing and implementing a global target for agricultural antibiotic use won’t be easy, the review, led by former Goldman Sachs chief economist […] Read more
Disease-resistant pigs latest win for gene editing technology
London | Reuters — A British animal genetics firm, working with U.S. scientists, has bred the world’s first pigs resistant to a common viral disease, using the hot new technology of gene editing. Genus, which supplies pig and bull semen to farmers worldwide, said on Tuesday it had worked with the University of Missouri to […] Read more
Agriculture is responding to climate change
Warmer oceans and retreating glaciers are being felt at the farm level, but farmers are always moving forward
Reading Time: 3 minutes The following presentation won senior division honours in the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto last month. A rise of 0.8 over 130 years… Why are we paying attention to such a number? Why does it even matter? Because this rise of 0.8 C is affecting the way the world is fed! […] Read more
What to do when the bats come home to roost
Reading Time: 2 minutes Bats in your belfry? Or rather, your barn or attic? “If you know that you have bats in your house, chances are it’s because there is not a good habitat for them somewhere else,” says conservation technician Lisa Card. “Most species would rather not be there, but their habitat has been altered and for whatever […] Read more
How farm safety legislation played out in Manitoba
Reading Time: 4 minutes The Alberta government has suggested its farm workplace rules are going to be very similar to other provinces So what does that look like? Perhaps the best example is Manitoba, where in 2009 the NDP government extended workplace, health and safety rules to farms and made workers’ compensation compulsory. Doug Chorney was president of Keystone […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
