Livestock
Reading Time: < 1 minute On Oct. 13 USDA reported hogs, on average, weighed 272.6 lbs. in the key Iowa/Minnesota markets, up nearly two lbs. from the previous week and up 3.7 lbs. from a year earlier. Growth was slowed last year by being fed last year’s poor-quality corn from last year’s harvest. This year, hogs should continue to get […] Read more
Brief – for Oct. 25, 2010
Feeding Sows Ad Lib Boosts Piglet Weaning Weights – for Oct. 25, 2010
Reading Time: 4 minutes Feeding sows ad lib during lactation results in higher feed intake, boosting piglet weaning weights and improving reproductive performance in the subsequent parity, says Dr. Malachy Young, a nutritionist with Gowans Feed Consulting. “Advances in litter size and changes in the sow’s genetics have created new challenges in feeding lactating sows, which generally have lower […] Read more
Canada’s dark secret needs to be addressed
Beef graders and the industry need to step up to improve cattle and beef quality
Reading Time: 3 minutes The seasonality in beef grades has been well documented for many years. Early fall presents its own set of problems in beef grading, specifically a higher percentage of the cattle grading B4. These B4 cattle are commonly called dark cutters, as the muscle tissue does not “bloom” or brighten to a cherry red after exposure […] Read more
Elm Trees Can Now Be Pruned Until March 31 – for Oct. 25, 2010
Reading Time: < 1 minute Agri-News Elm sanitation is essential to an integrated Dutch elm disease (DED) prevention program. To help prevent DED, elms in Alberta can only be pruned between October 1 and March 31, when there is no danger of spreading this disease. “The deadly DED fungus is spread by three insect vectors: the banded, native and smaller […] Read more
S. Ont. ricotta maker funded for renovations
A southern Ontario cheesemaker billed as Canada’s biggest ricotta producer has picked up public funding to renovate its packaging and production space. Silani Sweet Cheese, based in Simcoe County at Schomberg, about 40 km north of Toronto, will get $843,900 from the province’s Rural Economic Development program for the renovation work. Upgrading its production and […] Read more
N.S. livestock groups move to shared-services model
Nova Scotia’s beef, pork and sheep producer associations are setting up a new organization to co-ordinate producer programs and look for “joint ventures” in the meat business. Pork Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Cattle Producers and the Sheep Producers Association of Nova Scotia are now developing what’s to be called the Agri-Commodity Management Association. The new […] Read more
Que. plans $100M compensation for ASRA tweaks
Pending changes to Quebec’s ASRA farm income stabilization program will soon come with their own support program. The provincial agriculture, food and fisheries ministry (MAPAQ) on Thursday telegraphed that it will “soon” announce transitional funding on the order of $100 million. The funding is to be earmarked for farm operations most impacted by what’s expected […] Read more
Cargill to back 4-H community projects
Cargill’s Canadian arm has launched a new outreach program in which 4-H clubs can develop projects to make a positive impact in their home communities. The new program, a promotion for the company’s Victory brand hybrid canola, was announced Wednesday and dubbed the Reaping Returns Community Outreach Program. Participating 4-H project teams are eligible to […] Read more
Vaccine approved as ILT, Marek’s preventive in chicks
A vaccine combining a turkey herpes virus (HVT) vaccine for Marek’s disease and part of the virus for infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) has picked up registration for use in day-old chickens at the hatchery. Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health said Monday its new Innovax-ILT product now has Canadian registration for vaccination of healthy one-day-old chickens by subcutaneous route […] Read more
Tax deferrals granted for northern Alta., B.C. ranchers
The program that allows ranchers to defer taxable income on drought-induced sales of breeding livestock has rolled out an initial list of eligible areas for the 2010 tax year, starting in Alberta and British Columbia. The federal government’s tax deferral program allows eligible producers in designated areas to defer income on the sale of breeding […] Read more
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