Manitoba’s provincial government will not back a hog stabilization program proposed by the Manitoba Pork Council. “We’re very disappointed by the decision,” said council chairman Karl Kynoch, who anticipates more producers will exit the pork industry as a result. “The only good thing is that now producers know that they are on their own and […] Read more
Manitoba shuns proposal for hog farm stabilization
Oats could lose Chicago contract
Potential The elimination of European oat tariffs could present new opportunities for North American oat growers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Without a rebound of the equine oat market, oat growers could see the crop slide into special crops territory and lose its spot on the Chicago Board of Trade. Losing the CBOT oat contract is a development that would cost producers and processors dearly, according to Randy Strychar of Ag Commodity Research, who spoke about […] Read moreLab error paves the way for potential breakthrough in storage of leafcutter bees
Fluctuation Raising the temperature for an hour a day in cold storage boosts survival prospects
Reading Time: 2 minutes Scientists may have found a way to increase the shelf life of leafcutter bees, even if they didn’t intend to. “Honestly, we misprogramed an incubator and blundered into it,” said Joseph Rinehart, a USDA research biologist at the Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, N.D. After mistakenly programming a daily hour-long increase in […] Read morePork producers reeling after hog barn footage aired
Exception Farmers say the undercover footage of a Manitoba hog operation isn’t a fair representation of the industry
Reading Time: 3 minutes Video shot by an undercover animal rights activist at a Manitoba hog barn unfairly depicts animal care practices, farm groups say. Featured on CTV’s W5 program, the grainy footage shows sows in gestation stalls, castration, tail docking, a cull sow being repeatedly shot with a captive bolt and piglets being slammed into cement floors. But […] Read moreEnd of cheap energy could reshape agriculture
Reading Time: 2 minutes The end of cheap energy could mean a resurgence of interest in small-scale farming, says award-winning Alberta author Andrew Nikiforuk. “I think we’re going to see a lot of dramatic events in the next five years,” he told the annual National Farmers Union conference in Saskatoon. The decline of fossil fuels is having a direct […] Read more
Pork sector reeling as hidden-camera footage goes national
Video shot at a farm in Manitoba’s Interlake region by an undercover animal rights activist unfairly depicts animal care practices in the province, farm groups say. Featured on CTV’s newsmagazine program W5, the grainy footage shows sows in gestation stalls, castration, tail docking, a cull sow being repeatedly shot with a captive bolt and piglets […] Read more
Swine dysentery is back and in a new strain
Reading Time: 2 minutes For years it has been absent from western Canadian hog barns, but now swine dysentery is back in Canadian and American herds. “From my understanding it was in the mid-1990s when classical swine dysentery, brachyspira hydosenteriae, sort of went off the radar,” Joe Rubin told the 2012 Canadian Swine Health Forum in Winnipeg last week. […] Read more
Japanese seek assurances of continued wheat quality
Reading Time: 2 minutes Satoru Koyajima likes the quality of the Canadian durum, but wonders if it will be there in the future. “We are a little bit concerned now that the Canadian Wheat Board is not operating as it used to,” he said through a translator. But the research and development leader with Japan’s largest pasta producer was […] Read more
Maple Leaf Puratone offer sends message of stability to lenders
Maple Leaf Food’s agreement to purchase the Niverville-based Puratone Corporation is good news for Manitoba hog producers, according to the Manitoba Pork Council. "We’re happy to see that a Canadian company has purchased Puratone," said council chairman, Karl Kynoch. "We want to see plants here that can compete with their American counterparts." With two of […] Read more
Maple Leaf examines options after Olymel eyes Big Sky
Maple Leaf Foods is examining its options after competitor Olymel placed a "stalking horse" bid on Big Sky Farms of Saskatchewan. Big Sky is a supplier for Maple Leaf’s Brandon facility, but went into receivership earlier this fall. "We don’t expect any short-term impact on our hog supply and we have several contingency plans in […] Read more
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