Reading Time: 2 minutes “Let’s make sure that, if we’re going to do this, we’re not going to make it too expensive.” brad wildeman CCA President Canada remains committed to national livestock traceability, even though Canadian cattle producers want some slack and the United States is backpedaling on its own traceability program. Plans for a traceability system in 2011 […] Read more
Traceability Target Date Unchanged
Hawaiian Queen Bee Imports To Resume
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada and the United States have reached an agreement allowing imports of queen bees from Hawaii to resume, at least for 2010. But Canada may have to change federal legislation if it wants those imports to continue next year and beyond. Canada stopped issuing import permits for Hawaiian queen bees in October 2009 after the […] Read more
Are Livestock Producers Really Saying It Out Loud?
Reading Time: 4 minutes “You can do it but it’s really complicated.” – PETER CLARK, TRADE LAWYER The financial crisis in the cattle and hog sectors has some producers uttering two words out loud that they would never previously have whispered even in the dark: supply management. The question heard at farm meetings and in coffee shops is: would […] Read more
Fertilizer Analysts Advise Locking In Nitrogen
Reading Time: 2 minutes winnipeg Farmers can expect reasonably stable fertilizer prices over the next few years – a welcome break from the wild price swings during the previous two years, according to a U. S. industry analyst. The price of fertilizer is expected to increase moderately this spring as markets return to normal. But huge price gyrations which […] Read more
Speed Kills… Canola Yields, That Is
Reading Time: 2 minutes Here’s a slow way to make $450 an hour They say time is money. Which means slowing down while seeding crops should cost more in fuel and labour. Not necessarily, says Derwyn Hammond, a Canola Council of Canada agronomist. Seeding canola at a slower speed can actually save money, Hammond told a seminar at Manitoba […] Read more
New Pig Disease Poses A Puzzle
Reading Time: 2 minutes “These pigs look very similar to pigs that simply starve to death.” – John Harding, U Of S Scientists at the University of Saskatchewan have discovered a new and baffling swine ailment in which newly weaned pigs fail to eat and starve to death. Postweaning Wasting/Catabolic Syndrome (PWCS), can cause death losses of up to […] Read more
Current El Niño Is One Of The Strongest Ever
Reading Time: 2 minutes The balance of winter on the Prairies could soon turn balmy because of El Nińo, says a Canadian Wheat Board weather analyst. A rising El Nińo phenomenon – one of the strongest ever – could bring warmer winter weather to Western Canada, possibly followed by below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation in spring, said Bruce Burnett, […] Read more
New Agricultural Alliance To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada has joined an international network devoted to helping farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The group called the Gl obal Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases will collaborate on research and exchange information on mitigating greenhouse gases from agricultural activity. Besides Canada, the alliance includes the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, […] Read more
“Ice-Cream” Plant Improves Forage Production
Reading Time: 3 minutes “I’ve never gotten a call from a livestock producer who wants to get rid of it.” They say the great cattle drives from the United States to Canada during the late 19th century used to follow the “winterfat trail.” Winterfat, a low-lying shrub native to Great Northern Plains, was a prime source of nutrition for […] Read more
AMAS Criticized For Use Of Vets In Trade Talks
Reading Time: 2 minutes A new agency to facilitate Canadian meat exports has come under fire for using federal veterinarians as negotiators, instead of seasoned trade officials. Relying on veterinarians to negotiate market access creates “huge problems” for Canada’s beef producers still reeling from the aftereffects of BSE, according to a former Canada Beef Export Federation official. “Why would […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
