U.S. restrictions that have hindered that country’s imports of live Canadian sheep and goats, going back to the start of the BSE crisis in 2003, are set to be scrapped and replaced with rules applying specifically to scrapie. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Friday published a new […] Read more
U.S. to lift BSE-related rules off sheep, goat imports
New scrapie-specific rules take effect next month
Britain tells its food industry to prepare for CO2 price shock
U.K. pays fertilizer maker CF Industries to reopen plants
London | Reuters — Britain warned its food producers on Wednesday to prepare for a 400 per cent rise in carbon dioxide prices after extending emergency state support to avert a shortage of poultry and meat triggered by soaring costs of wholesale natural gas. Natural gas prices have spiked this year as economies reopened from […] Read more
U.K. meat industry warns of threat to supplies from CO2 crisis
CO2 shortage is caused by closure of fertilizer plants
London | Reuters — Some of Britain’s meat processors will run out of carbon dioxide (CO2) within five days, forcing them to halt production and impacting supplies to food retailers, the head of the industry’s lobby group warned on Monday. A jump in gas prices has forced several domestic energy suppliers out of business and […] Read more
A classic scene from Alberta Open Farm Days
Reading Time: < 1 minute SherryAnn (on left in hat) and Kurtis Hoogland (on the tractor) transported visitors on a “tour trailer” to show off their operation in Lacombe County. The Hooglands produce grass-fed lamb and beef and raise pigs and poultry on pasture. The first-generation farm family was participating in Open Farm Days for the first time, one of […] Read more
When using canola for forage keep these factors in mind
Nitrates and sulphur are concerns, as are bloat and scours — and regrowth can be perilous
Reading Time: 3 minutes Poor canola stands not worth harvesting can be an alternate forage option. “While canola makes palatable feed, it may take one or two days for cattle to become accustomed to the taste,” said Miranda Meehan, North Dakota State University Extension livestock environmental stewardship specialist. Forage canola has a nutrient content similar to alfalfa, with crude […] Read more
StatsCan sees higher cattle, hog inventories at July 1
Full impacts of West's drought not yet counted
Nationwide head counts of livestock from the “early stages” of Western Canada’s ongoing drought won’t yet show the weather’s full impact, but showed slightly larger herds heading into this summer compared to last year. Statistics Canada on Monday reported the first year-over-year increase in the size of the country’s cattle herd as of July 1 […] Read more
Plans afoot to move hay from East to drought-hit West
CFA, BFO spearheading Hay West-style initiatives
Farm groups are spearheading new plans to get livestock feed from Eastern Canada to drought-damaged regions of the western provinces and northwestern Ontario. Details are still pending, but the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) announced Aug. 12 it has started work on a “Hay West” initiative to get surplus hay “to those struggling in the […] Read more
Drought relief payments to start flowing in early September
Producers need an AFSC account and a record of ‘extraordinary' livestock feed expenses
Reading Time: 3 minutes The first drought relief payment of $94 per head should be in the hands of cattle producers early next month. In the meantime, producers need to make sure they have an account with Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) and start putting together a record of “extraordinary” feed expenses because of the drought. “We’re working towards […] Read more
Feds lock in AgriRecovery funds before election call
Ottawa's pledged share now up to $500 million
Just hours ahead of a federal election call, the federal government has committed $500 million to cover its share of federal/provincial AgriRecovery support plans for drought-hit farmers across Canada’s West. Shortly before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit Sunday to Rideau Hall seeking the dissolution of Parliament for a federal election, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau confirmed […] Read more
Livestock affected by wildfire smoke, too
Reading Time: < 1 minute The extensive smoke from this year’s wildfires has prompted the American Veterinary Medical Association to put out an advisory for pets and livestock. “If you can see or feel the effects of smoke yourself, you also should take precautions to keep your animals — both pets and livestock — safe.” It urges animal owners to […] Read more