Livestock
A new organization offering technical support to Quebec’s cheesemakers will get provincial start-up funding worth $300,000 over two years. The Centre d’expertise fromagere du Quebec is meant to offer technical support to cheesemakers both in production and in business management. The creation of the centre is expected to help the province’s artisanal cheesemakers continue their […] Read more
Quebec backs cheese centre of excellence
U.S. COOL hauled before WTO starting today
Switzerland plays host to a meeting of the NAFTA countries starting today (Sept. 14) as Canada and Mexico take the United States’ regulations on mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) before the World Trade Organization. According to a notice Monday from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, hearings before the WTO’s dispute settlement panel begin Tuesday in Geneva with […] Read more
Alta. broadens farms’ access to disaster funds
Larger- and smaller-scale farmers in Alberta will be able to qualify for disaster recovery programs now that the province expanded the programs’ eligibility criteria. Retroactive to July 1, the province has lifted its maximum assistance limit for all applicants for disaster relief, and expects to also allow more farms and small businesses to qualify by […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle prices struggle to move higher
Feeder cattle prices in Western Canada were steady with week-ago levels with strong feedlot demand noted for heavier yearlings. The recent CanFax Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle on feed report showed feedlot supplies at four-year lows. Feedlots are running at below normal capacity for this time of year and enthusiasm for replacements has stayed strong, despite […] Read more
Herbicides On Pasture Work Well — If Applied Well – for Sep. 13, 2010
Reading Time: < 1 minute Herbicides are an option for increasing pasture productivity, but proper application is a must, says a Dow AgroSciences representative. Vaughn Leuschen spoke during a tour of the Black Bear Provincial Grazing Reserve in Westlock county at the beginning of August. Some areas of the 17,000-acre reserve have been successfully treated to remove weed competition. Leuschen […] Read more
A New Twist For 4-H Provincial Beef Heifer Show – for Sep. 13, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes 4-H is all about bringing great ideas together, and this year at the Provincial Beef Heifer Show (PBHS) in Olds, a really great idea came together– 4-H, along with the Olds Agricultural Society, Calgary Stampede and Olds College, created a new event that combines many areas of youth livestock showcasing. This brings together youth from […] Read more
Sharing The Costs Of Bringing Milk To Market – for Sep. 13, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes Milk trucks still rumble along Alberta’s country roads, but gone are the days when they delivered to the local dairy. Local creameries and dairies have become obsolete, as major processors centralized their plants in Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge. Though one of the top-five milk producers in the province, the Lavoie family dairy operation in the […] Read more
Obesity Is Not Only A Health Problem For Humans – for Sep. 13, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes Any good purebred producer will tell you that in order to win at shows cattle need lots of condition. It goes against their better judgment, but their show cattle are definitely fed differently. While we all know cattle in good condition (body condition 2.5-3.5 on a five-point system) for calving and rebreeding are ideal, show […] Read more
Hog traceability rules expected by early 2011
Federal regulations allowing the setup of a swine traceability system in Canada are now expected to take effect by early 2011 at the latest. PigTrace Canada manager Jeff Clark told the industry-sponsored program Farmscape last week that planned amendments to the federal Health of Animals Regulations, which would allow for movement reporting and identification of […] Read more
Lessard reappointed to Quebec ag ministry file
Quebec’s provincial minister of municipal affairs will again add the agriculture, food and fisheries portfolio to his duties. Laurent Lessard, the MNA for Frontenac in the province’s Chaudiere-Appalaches region and a former agriculture minister (2007-09), was named Wednesday by Premier Jean Charest to replace the late Claude Bechard in the ag ministry. Bechard died Tuesday […] Read more
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