Reuters — Mondelez International, the maker of Cadbury chocolates and Oreo cookies, said it would stop using eggs laid by caged hens for its products sold in Canada and the U.S. by 2020. Formed in 2012 by Kraft Foods’ spinoff of its grocery business, including the Christie and Nabisco cookie and cracker lines, Mondelez joins […] Read more
Snack maker Mondelez plans for cage-free eggs by 2020
On-farm stewardship funding available
Reading Time: < 1 minute Growing Forward 2’s On-Farm Stewardship program might have some cash for you. “As we get into the depths of winter, it’s time to start planning for next year,” said Mike Hittinger, a provincial extension specialist with Alberta Agriculture. “The On-Farm Stewardship program has financial support for some of the things you may be planning.” The […] Read more
A statistical portrait of Alberta ag
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s Agriculture Statistics Yearbook 2014 is now available. The tables and charts provide both a current and historical perspective, with individual sections on sectors such as crops, livestock, and food and beverages, as well as industry measures and indicators such as farm income, agri-food exports, economic indicators, and the Census of Agriculture. Alberta […] Read more
Packers approved to move beef, pork to Ukraine
Inspectors have approved 15 Canadian beef and pork processing plants to export to Ukraine, more than doubling the number of Canadian meat plants able to ship to the country. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday announced Ukraine has, essentially, approved beef and pork exports from any Canadian federally-registered establishment […] Read more
That work you hate pays very well
If you’re still running the farm on a cash basis, you’re tying one hand behind your back
Reading Time: 2 minutes Nearly three decades ago, a study of farmers’ work priorities found — to no one’s surprise — that record-keeping ranked well behind field work; buying and selling machinery and crops; and equipment repair. Only 16 per cent hired outside help for record-keeping, 50 per cent did it themselves and 20 per cent named their spouse […] Read more
Farmers getting an edge with advisory boards
Want to learn how you can benefit? Join the free webinar on Jan. 13
Reading Time: < 1 minute Leading farmers often cite advisory boards as one of their best practices. If you want to learn how to set one up, there’s a webinar on Jan. 13 at 10 a.m. Shauna Feth, executive director of Alberta Business Family Institute, will deliver a 45-minute presentation followed by questions and answers. Among the topics that will […] Read more
Looking to cut costs and increase profits? Try the five per cent rule
Increasing yields and your sale price by five per cent while cutting costs by the same amount can double your profit
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the sport of baseball, the difference between superstar Derek Jeter and a squad player is simply hitting one more ball every 20 times at bat — a five per cent improvement done “over and over and over again.” Well, that’s fine for baseball, but what does five per cent look like in farming? “If […] Read more
Farmers wanted for landmark survey on stress
Online survey available until Jan. 18, 2016
Reading Time: < 1 minute A researcher with the Ontario Veterinary College is looking for additional participants for a survey on farmer stress. About 700 farmers have filled out the online Producer Stress and Resilience survey, but lead researcher Andria Jones-Bitton is hoping to get 1,000 responses. This study, the first of its kind in Canada, is intended to chart […] Read more
Canada’s no-buy list for poultry, eggs down to two states
Canada is now warning cross-border travellers to the U.S. against bringing in raw poultry and eggs from two states, down from six at the end of 2015. As of Tuesday, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, travellers entering Canada from the U.S. may not bring in uncooked poultry products, live birds and/or eggs from […] Read more
Weak loonie expected to support hog prices, but not yet
CNS Canada — A weak loonie could improve the profit margin of Canadian pork producers by summer, according to one analyst, but its effects have been little seen in the current market. Influencers outside of currency markets are driving current cash prices lower — and cash prices are relatively depressed, according to Tyler Fulton, director […] Read more