Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s broiler chicken industry has reached a new quota allocation agreement, avoiding a potential showdown with a federal regulator that could have thrown the system into chaos. The deal will see Alberta producers get more quota and rejoin the Chicken Farmers of Canada (CFC). “The reason we stepped out was because our population was growing […] Read more
Chicken industry reaches long-delayed allocation agreement
New deal gives Alberta fair share of chicken allocation
Replacing collapsed buildings? Build strong and to code
The collapse of farm buildings last winter showed why it pays to invest in well-built, engineered structures
Reading Time: 3 minutes A spate of farm buildings that collapsed from heavy snow loads this past winter has Alberta farmers looking at replacing structures they never expected to fail. More than a dozen collapsed barns were reported in central Alberta. In one case near Ponoka, more than 30 cattle were reported killed. Other cases saw expensive farm equipment […] Read more
Half-moon holes produce crops in sub-Saharan desert
Reading Time: 3 minutes An innovative water-trapping technique is making the desert bloom in one of the most inhospitable regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Demi-lunes — holes in the shape of a semi-circle — are used to capture and store run-off rainwater. It’s a simple, low-tech water-harvesting method which enables crops to grow in a hostile climate. The water conservation […] Read more
FCC accused of overstepping its mandate
Inflating debt C.D. Howe Institute says FCC supplying excessive credit to the farm sector
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new report by a leading public policy think-tank accuses Farm Credit Canada and other federal financial Crown corporations of “mission creep” by offering services far beyond their original mandates. The report by the C.D. Howe Institute recommends their authority “should be clearly circumscribed and even rolled back” so private lenders can do more to […] Read moreWestern Milk Pool To Explore New Markets
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s four western provinces have engaged a market specialist to develop new opportunities for dairy products by tapping into growing ethnic populations. The western milk pool has hired Nissim Avraham to help develop ethnic and niche markets through partnerships with dairy processors, distributors and retailers. Avraham is a Dairy Farmers of Ontario employee in charge […] Read more
Cool Outcome At WTO Still Has Long Way To Go
Reading Time: 2 minutes Don’t expect the U.S. country-of-origin labelling dispute to be over any time soon, despite a reported Word Trade Organization panel ruling against it. A final outcome could still be years away, even if Canada does win the WTO case, said Kevin Grier, a livestock analyst with the George Morris Centre. “It’s going to take a […] Read more
EFC Funds Research Chair In Poultry Welfare
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s egg producers are funding a poultry welfare chair at the University of Guelph to help them develop new housing systems for their birds. Egg Farmers of Canada will contribute $110,000 a year for the next seven years to research alternative housing for layer hens. The research will be headed by Tina Widowski, a University […] Read more
Manitoba Interlake ranchers face desperate situation
Updated, May 12 — Cattle producers in Manitoba’s Interlake are frantically trying to move their herds out of the Lake Manitoba region this week after receiving emergency evacuation warnings because of rising flood waters. Producers in nearly a dozen municipalities around the lower basin of Lake Manitoba have been put on evacuation alert for as […] Read more
Testing For BSE Worthwhile
Reading Time: 2 minutes A new industry study concludes a voluntary BSE testing program for cattle could help boost Canada’s beef exports to Asia. But it cautions that BSE-tested beef would only be a niche market and the demand for it might be limited. Testing alone may not fully restore Canada’s beef markets lost to BSE in Japan and […] Read more
Manitoba cattle price insurance in the works
Hidden in Manitoba Finance Minister Rosann Wowchuk’s 2011-12 budget is a $200,000 allocation for cattle insurance. The Manitoba government has set aside $200,000 for a livestock insurance pilot program for the province’s cattle producers. The allocation is hidden in the 2011-12 provincial budget Wowchuk brought down April 12. The Co-operator learned about it during briefings […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
