Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Transportation Department on Wednesday proposed giving airlines the power to bar emotional support animals from cabins and limit the definition of a service animal to a trained dog. The proposed new rules are aimed at preventing passengers from falsely claiming their pets are service animals aboard U.S. airline flights. […] Read more
No turkeys, pigs, goats: U.S. to let airlines limit service animals
Miniature horses still up for discussion
Here’s what your fellow beef producers were reading last year
The Beef Research Council produces a raft of articles every year — here’s the Top 10 for 2019
Reading Time: 2 minutes Production advice dominates the Top 10 list of Beef Cattle Research Council’s most popular blogs in the past year — but occupying the No. 1 spot was an article on how plant-based protein stacks up against beef. The article Isn’t beef Canada’s ultimate plant-based protein? beat out 77 other blog posts, the council said in […] Read more
Variable Prairie weather makes for uncertain spring ahead
If nothing else, a rainy harvest season helped replenish topsoil moisture
MarketsFarm — Late-season rains wreaked havoc on the 2019 harvest season but were helpful in restoring topsoil moisture to key growing regions in the Prairies. Since snow coverage has been variable across the Prairies so far in 2020, however, the growing season may get off to a rocky start. “If we take a look at […] Read more
Ranchers prefer conservation management agreements
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ranchers and farmers in Western Canada prefer conservation management agreements when it comes to protecting habitat, a survey of 200 producers by the University of Waterloo has found. These agreements are usually made with a conservation organization to undertake practices that benefit wildlife. Annual payments for habitat management were the preferred incentive. Market certification (having […] Read more
Amended CUSMA pact includes anti-COOL clause
The new Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), a free trade deal set to replace NAFTA, includes language meant to block any future bids at a trade-disrupting country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law. The new clause would, in theory, checkmate a move made last summer by some Democrat members of the U.S. House of Representatives to have a new North […] Read more
Bees cannot live on canola and alfalfa alone
‘Agriculture blooms for one month a year’ and so maintaining pockets of natural food sources is critical
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cropland’s encroachment on nature threatens to starve bees and pollinators, says beekeeper Ian Steppler. “Where we find a balance within our countryside between agriculture and nature is where we find tremendous growth and prosperity,” said Steppler, a crops and cattle producer in Manitoba who has 1,500 hives and produces over 250,000 pounds of honey per […] Read moreDeer Creek Livestock recognized for environmental stewardship
Reading Time: < 1 minute Deer Creek Livestock Co. is the winner of the 2020 Environmental Stewardship Award. The award from Alberta Beef Producers recognizes a cattle operation demonstrating leadership in environmental stewardship that contributes to the land while improving productivity and profitability. The Deer Creek Livestock shareholder group purchased the ranch, located near Milk River, in 2011 from the […] Read more
Fictional nation Wakanda removed from USDA trade list
Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it removed the fictional country of Wakanda from an online list of nations that have free trade agreements with the United States on Thursday. The Kingdom of Wakanda is the home of Black Panther, the Marvel superhero, and is portrayed in comic books and the 2018 […] Read more
Fraser: Bibeau buying time, BRM not a federal priority
The federal government is buying time when it comes to making drastic improvements to AgriStability and other business risk management (BRM) programs. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau recently announced minor, cost-free tweaks to AgriStability, during the same week the public was given an updated look at Canada’s fiscal situation. That update shows the Liberal government’s […] Read more
Central Ontario MP named parliamentary ag secretary
A former Belleville, Ont. mayor will now play a backup role to the federal agriculture minister in the House of Commons. Neil Ellis, the Liberal MP for the Bay of Quinte constituency in central Ontario since 2015, was named Thursday as parliamentary secretary for the minister of agriculture and agri-food, Marie-Claude Bibeau. Ellis was a […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
