Rio de Janeiro | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Centuries-old traditions that led to 430 people owning half of Scotland’s privately held land are soon to become history, as local communities seek to double their ownership in the nation known for its rugged landscape, sheep and fine whisky. While inequality of land ownership is more often […] Read more
Scotland moves against wealthy gentry dominating land
Russian cheese lovers find way around import ban
Moscow | Reuters — An entrepreneur has found a way to supply Italian parmesan, Dutch Gouda and British Cheddar to cheese connoisseurs in Russia, sidestepping a ban on importing European food that the Kremlin imposed in the fallout from the conflict in Ukraine. Russia’s government banned wholesale imports of fresh food products from the European […] Read more
Tips on the proper use of livestock antibiotics
Reading Time: < 1 minute Here are Dr. Craig Dorin’s recommendations for using antimicrobials effectively. Don’t use antimicrobials for diseases that they are not indicated for. For example, abscesses are a common problem, but these are localized infections. If the animal does not have a fever and the infection is not systemic, it doesn’t need an antibiotic. Similarly, don’t use […] Read more
Suspected cattle-attacking gator killed in Florida
Orlando | Reuters –– A 780-lb. “monster” alligator slain in a Florida hunt and hauled out of the water with a farm tractor falls short of the state record for length, a wildlife official said on Wednesday. “A big alligator nonetheless, but they are not going to have an official measurement because it’s not going […] Read more
New biorefinery to open demonstration refinery
SBI BioEnergy says it has a unique process that uses no water or chemicals and generates no waste
Reading Time: 2 minutes An Edmonton company is reaching the final stage of its project to build a biorefinery that will convert non-food canola oil and waste fats into next-generation, renewable transportation fuels that can replace or can be blended with conventional fuels. The company, SBI BioEnergy (SBI), has been working on scaling up its novel “catalytic” processing technology […] Read more
Go slow in helping children learn tasks
Reading Time: < 1 minute Children are often eager to help out on the farm, but tasks should be introduced in stages and with lots of preparation, says Raelyn Peterson, farm safety co-ordinator with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. Supervision requirements vary by task, age, and abilities. The best way for a child to learn through experience is to learn with […] Read more
Host of farm-safety resources available
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture has a number of farm safety resources, including activity books, guidelines, booklets, signs, and decals. These include an activity book on safety around livestock and a publication called Children and Farm Chores for assessing when a child is ready to take on farm tasks. The pocket- sized booklet Quick ’N’ Dirty Guide to Farm […] Read more
Two more states’ eggs, poultry allowed into Canada
Cross-border travellers may again bring raw poultry meat, eggs and live birds into Canada from North Dakota and Missouri. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency last week shortened its list of U.S. states under avian influenza-related restrictions to just one. Indiana remains under limits imposed in January after highly pathogenic (“high-path”) H7N8 avian flu turned up at […] Read more
FCC expands loan program for young farmers
Reading Time: < 1 minute Farm Credit Canada is expanding its loan program for young farmers by $500 million. FCC launched the program four years ago and had nearly 6,000 loans totalling more than $1.3 billion as of Dec. 31, 2015. The Young Farmer Loan program provides qualified producers, under age 40, with loans of up to $500,000 to purchase […] Read more
Producers need to banish bad habits as margins become slimmer
Producers need to sock away some cash as we head into a downward cycle
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the tale of the ant and the grasshopper, only the forward-thinking ant survived — and the same may be true for Canadian farmers as they head into the next downward cycle. “This next business cycle could potentially do to grain farmers like BSE did to cattle operators,” said Kim Gerencser, president of Growing Farm […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
