Provincial officials are investigating a suspected case of animal abuse after 1,300 piglets found in a state of "severe distress" were euthanized at a hog production facility in west-central Manitoba late last week. The provincial chief veterinarian’s office (CVO) responded to a call reporting the inappropriate treatment of hogs on the farm Aug. 24, a […] Read more
Hundreds of weanling hogs euthanized at W. Man. farm
Dairy farmers ready for tightened SCC levels
Canadian dairy farmers will have to meet new standards for somatic cell counts (SCCs) beginning this summer, but they appear to be ahead of the curve. Effective Aug. 1, regulatory limits for producers will be lowered to 399,000 per millilitre from 499,000 per millilitre. However, "the change is not going to affect most dairy producers," […] Read more
New technology focuses on native gene manipulation
Competition Innovation is a must if canola is to continue competing against larger crops
Reading Time: 2 minutes The pace of canola seed innovation has increased dramatically over the last 10 years, but that doesn’t mean the industry can take a break or rest on its laurels. As canola production and consumption has increased over the last four or five years, the amount of soybean oil used worldwide has dropped by four billion […] Read moreCorn to rule at Husky ethanol plant this spring
Husky Energy’s ethanol plant in Manitoba is set to ditch wheat and focus on corn for a two-month-long run this spring. "In the next couple of months, March and April, we’re going to do a 100 per cent corn run," said Raymond Dyck, grain marketing co-ordinator for the Husky plant at Minnedosa, about 50 km […] Read more
Leafcutter beekeepers urged to keep a close watch on their colonies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Environmental factors clearly affect the health of leafcutter bees and colony development, but more research is needed to determine which factors affect what aspects of the bee’s life cycle, according to an American bee expert. “The last questions left are always the most difficult to answer,” Theresa Pitts-Singer of Utah State University told alfalfa producers […] 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
Winnipeg beef packing project to press ahead
A new Winnipeg slaughter plant will go ahead despite the loss of $10 million in federal funding and an effort by Manitoba Beef Producers to end the voluntary $2 checkoff funding the project, according to its chief executive. "We are ready for shovels in the ground when we finish our financing, and when Mother Nature […] Read more
Cattle agency moving ahead toward Winnipeg beef plant
A new beef slaughter facility is still on track to open in Winnipeg in 2012, despite losing $10 million in funding from the federal government. “We’re as anxious to get out there and make an announcement as anyone else, and we hope to soon. Everyone is kinda anxious,” David Wiens, a director with the Manitoba […] Read more
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