Reading Time: 2 minutes What’s the most commonly raised topic in the letters that land on federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz’s desk? If you guessed the Canadian Wheat Board, you’d be wrong. “Animal transport is the issue that he gets the most letters on from constituents,” said Canadian Cattlemen’s Association vice-president Martin Unrau at a recent town hall meeting […] Read more
Trucking front and centre in talks on new code of practice
CFIA lays charges over cattle shipments to U.S.
Three cattle operations and a veterinarian in western Manitoba have been charged for allegedly failing to accurately record ages of cattle shipped to the United States. Lisa Gauthier, a spokesperson for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said in an email that the charges under the Health of Animals Act and Regulations were approved by prosecutors […] Read more
Farmers get marketing “wake-up call”
Reading Time: 4 minutes The open market is coming and wheat farmers have a lot to learn in a hurry, marketing experts told farmers attending Ag Days, Manitoba’s largest annual farm show here this month. The wheat board’s sales director assured farmers that it would also be around after Aug. 1 (see page 8), but whether they go with […] Read more
Ritz to press CWB for interim no-cost buybacks
Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has pledged to push the Canadian Wheat Board to allow no-cost buybacks for farmers who’d like to market grain ahead of the official end of the single desk. Ritz told the recent annual meeting of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association in Moose Haw that he would push for such […] Read more
Forage’s fortunes never looked brighter, conference hears
Everybody, it seems, wants forage and that had speakers at the recent Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association conference in Saskatoon questioning why it’s still an afterthought on many Prairie farms. “That’s one of the problems with our industry. We don’t recognize the importance of forage,” said Ed Shaw, owner of Alberta-based International Quality Forages, and […] Read more
Behold The Humble Dung Beetle
Reading Time: 3 minutes Until you step in one, it s easy to ignore cow-pies. They may be little more than stinky landmines to some, but for AAFC Lethbridge insect biocontrol researcher Kevin Floate, cow-pies are host to such an array of fascinating insect activity that he can t stay away from them. But only in summer, he said, […] Read more
AAFC Lab In Manitoba Upgraded For Work On Ug99
Reading Time: 3 minutes Scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada s Research Station in Morden, Man. are putting a rogue strain of stem rust under the microscope. But forget the Hollywood thriller implications. Multiple layers of security ensure that the destructive pest Ug99 will stay contained, says Tom Fetch, the plant pathologist who heads up the Morden research program. […] Read more
Survey Claims Canadians Think Dairy Products Too Expensive
Reading Time: 2 minutes Over half of Canadians think dairy products are too expensive, according to a recent survey by a restaurant and food services association. The current system is making Canadian milk and cheese less attractive and less affordable for everyone, said Garth Whyte, president and CEO of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA). The survey conducted […] Read more
Cattlemen backed to evaluate bovine TB test options
Funding for a new diagnostic test for bovine tuberculosis in cattle that will be simpler and more cost-effective for regulatory agencies to administer was announced Tuesday by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. Nearly $320,000 has been set aside through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) to help the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association evaluate alternative bovine TB tests […] Read more
Solar Fencing Becoming Cheaper And More Efficient
Reading Time: 3 minutes Harnessing the power of the sun used to be an expensive proposition for ranchers developing off-site watering systems. But thanks to a frenetic expansion of production capacity by manufacturers in recent years, the price of solar-powered systems has come down, especially for photovoltaic panels. Much of this was due to subsidies in European countries, breakneck […] Read more
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