Canada’s biggest cheesemaker is expanding its reach in the goat dairy market with a friendly all-cash takeover of Ontario goat cheese firm Woolwich Dairy. Montreal-based Saputo announced Monday it has paid $80 million for the family-owned cheesemaking company, including its three plants and distribution centre. Based at Orangeville, north of Guelph, Woolwich has operated since […] Read more
Saputo buys goat cheesemaker Woolwich Dairy
Medhat Nasr receives honours
Reading Time: < 1 minute Provincial apiculturist Medhat Nasr was recently given the Roger A. Morse Outstanding Teaching/Extension Service/Regulatory Award. The award committee cited Medhat’s two decades of research, teaching and extension work with the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association, Rutgers University, and, for the past 13 years, in Alberta. “I would personally like to thank you for sharing your work with […] Read more
Hardy Highland cattle right at home in the hills of east-central Alberta
They calve easily and don’t turn up their nose at poor pasture lands — but their stubborn streak can be vexing
Reading Time: 4 minutes There were a few raised eyebrows when Jaylyn Ettinger decided to build a Highland cattle herd. “My dad thought we were crazy,” said Ettinger, who farms with husband Grant Marchand near Czar in east-central Alberta. But in the three years since the couple bought their first five Highland cattle, he’s come around. “Now he loves […] Read more
Indonesia making no progress against hazardous haze
Pekanbaru, Indonesia | Reuters — Indonesia has sent nearly 21,000 personnel to fight forest fires raging in its northern islands, the disaster management agency said on Tuesday, but smoke cloaks much of the region with pollution readings in the “very unhealthy” region in neighbouring Singapore. Slash-and-burn agriculture has blanketed Singapore, Malaysia and northern Indonesia in […] Read more
Farmers, upset over TPP talks, take cows to Parliament
Ottawa | Reuters — Unhappy Canadian dairy farmers parked dozens of tractors in central Ottawa and walked their cows down the main street opposite Parliament on Tuesday to protest trade talks they said could cripple them. Canada is one of 12 Pacific Rim countries trying to nail down a trade deal in Atlanta this week. […] Read more
ELECTION 2015: Action items for Alberta agriculture
Farm Vote: No matter what your sector, there are pressing farm issues for the next federal government
Reading Time: 2 minutes With the longest federal election campaign in Canadian history, you can’t say there hasn’t been time to discuss farm issues. But other than a few photo ops on farms, agriculture rarely gets a mention on the hustings. And, in a way, that’s OK with farm leaders in this province. Alberta Farmer reporter Jennifer Blair spoke […] Read more
Farmers. Do you know your customer? Try this pop quiz
Alberta exported a record $9.7 billion of agri-food products last year — but where did they go?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers are being urged these days to know their customers, so here’s a pop quiz based on the province’s latest agri-food export stats. 1) The U.S. has long been the No. 1 importer of Alberta agri-food products (raw commodities and processed products). What country is No. 2 and did its purchases go up or down […] Read more
Moving along: Institute developing super-fast fencing tool
The device has been designed to allow one person to string half a mile of four-strand, 3D fence in just two hours
Reading Time: 2 minutes Any producer who has put up a temporary fence knows what a tedious process it can be. However, a new device may soon save producers some headaches by halving both the time and labour spent on installing temporary fencing. “Based on some surveying we did of farmers, it takes four to eight hours to put […] Read more
COOL saga winding down, but not over yet
CNS Canada –– The seven-year saga of U.S. country of origin labelling (COOL) rules and their adverse impact on Canada’s livestock sector may be nearing its final chapter, but the conclusion still needs to be written. After numerous complaints and appeals with the World Trade Organization, the COOL regulations in place since 2008 have been […] Read more
Livestock seen threatened as biting insects press north
Bluetongue’s most recent appearance in the Canadian cattle herd may be a taste of what’s to come as insect species expand northward, a new study warns. Anna Zuliani, previously a graduate student in veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary (UCVM), recently published a paper on how geographical distribution of biting midges relates to the […] Read more
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