Livestock

Canadian dairy farmers can expect about a 1.5 per cent increase in per-hectolitre revenue from industrial milk starting Feb. 1. The Canadian Dairy Commission on Friday rolled out the increases for support prices for butter and skim milk powder to take effect Feb. 1, 2011. “The current situation is that farm revenues are lagging behind […] Read more

Manitoba’s first cases of notifiable avian flu have turned out, as predicted, to be a type low in severity and not the notorious H5N1 strain. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed Thursday that the virus found in birds on a commercial turkey breeding farm in the province’s South Interlake region is low-pathogenic (“low-path”) H5N2 avian […] Read more

Manitoba has raised the subsidy it pays to licensed trappers and municipalities to thin out the problem beaver population, and plans to raise the compensation it pays farmers for other wildlife damage. The immediate increase in the beaver subsidy, to $20 from $15 per animal, is meant to help rural municipalities deal with an “abundance” […] Read more

British Columbia has launched a two-month online consultation as part of a larger review of its animal health laws and policies, with a specific focus on disease control. The province’s animal health policies and legislation “need to be modernized to ensure we can detect and manage a wide variety of diseases, including a broad range […] Read more

A turkey breeding operation in Manitoba’s South Interlake region has been quarantined with an unspecified H5 strain of avian flu, though public officials don’t expect it will be a high-path strain, much less the infamous H5N1. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and provincial government confirmed Wednesday that the farm, in the Rural Municipality of Rockwood […] Read more

A provincially-backed farm safety council is expected to find ways to reduce the number of on-farm injuries in Alberta without adding more rules or more costs. The Alberta government on Tuesday announced it will name a farm safety advisory council in the new year, to be co-chaired by “government and industry” with members from farmer, […] Read more

Nova Scotia will amend its new Animal Protection Act to clarify the province’s powers of seizure and custody as well as its inspectors’ powers and duties. The amendments announced Wednesday include confirmation that tests, taking samples, seizing carcasses, requiring records be produced, and taking photographs or other recordings can be conducted in the course of […] Read more

Due to a “low volume of calls,” the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency has dialed back the hours of customer service for its national call centre. As of Monday (Nov. 22), the CCIA’s call centre will operate Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. MST. The agency had expanded its call centre’s hours in […] Read more

Two major banks’ investment arms have signed a $362.4 million deal to buy about a 25 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Foods from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. BMO Capital Markets and TD Securities have agreed to pay $10.50 per share for all of Teachers’ 34.5 million common shares in the iconic Canadian […] Read more

The European Union will now allow duty-free imports of up to 20,000 tonnes of Canadian beef per year in a trade concession valued at over $10 million annually. The new quota, announced Tuesday by federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan, won’t end an ongoing dispute between Canada and the […] Read more