Livestock
Feb. 8 — A weaker Canadian dollar and softer feed grain prices have set a positive tone to the feeder cattle market in Western Canada. Finishing feedlots are realizing lower costs per pound gain and there appears to be renewed optimism as margins slowly improve. Auction market numbers in Alberta are running 10 per cent […] Read more
Klassen: Tighter feeder supplies expected in spring
N.L. feed grain elevator upgrades funded
Upgrades in handling and storage meant to boost quality control at a feed grain elevator on St. George’s Bay in western Newfoundland will get $400,000 in federal funds. The Newfoundland Feed Grains Society’s elevator at Stephenville, about 80 km southwest of Corner Brook, is expected to use the bulk of the funds to install new […] Read more
Feds pledge funds for scrapie study
Research expected to lay out the actual level of scrapie in Canada’s sheep herd is among the beneficiaries of AgriFlexibility funding aimed at the sheep and goat sectors. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and southern Ontario MP David Tilson on Saturday, announced up to $6 million for four projects in the sheep and goat industries, to […] Read more
Eastern retailers rework marketing for ag wares
A network of independent hardware and home reno retailers across Eastern Canada plan to market their farm tools, clothes and other ag-related products in one newly-branded section of their stores. BMR Le Groupe, a wholesale buying group for 180 “renovation centres” in Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, announced last week […] Read more
CFIA reworks rules for U.S. breeding cattle imports
New federal rules will more easily allow healthy breeding cattle to enter Canada from the U.S. if one or some of their herdmates test positive for anaplasmosis. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it’s revised its import rules to bring the handling of “non-negative” U.S. animals more in line with the regulations that govern domestic […] Read more
Editors’ Picks: USDA scraps national animal ID
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has officially dumped its plans for a national animal identification system (NAIS) more than five years and over US$120 million in the making. U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack on Friday announced a “new framework” for animal traceability, to be administered instead by individual states and Tribal Nations, and to apply […] Read more
Yukon names new minister for agriculture
Territory-level oversight for agriculture in the Yukon has changed hands in a cabinet shuffle Thursday by Premier Dennis Fentie. Southern Lakes MLA Patrick Rouble, who remains as the territory’s education minister, has also been named as the Yukon’s new minister for energy, mines and resources, which includes responsibility for agriculture. In his new portfolio, Rouble […] Read more
Ont. backs Bobcaygeon ice cream maker’s expansion
Dairy farmers in central Ontario are expected to see increased demand for milk as a regional ice cream company retools its plant with some help from the province. The Ontario government on Friday pledged up to $620,000 for Kawartha Dairy Ltd. to expand its plant at Bobcaygeon, about 50 km north of Peterborough. The province […] Read more
Dairy food safety, brain trust programs funded
On-farm food safety programs and nutritional research in the dairy sector are the beneficiaries of new federal funding. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on Thursday pledged up to $8.8 million from various agencies in support of a “dairy cluster” of industry and university scientific and technical expertise. The new Agri-Science Cluster for the dairy sector is […] Read more
Pork firm’s national poll pits bacon against sex
A pre-Valentine’s Day Angus Reid poll commissioned by Canadians’ principal source of bacon aims to hitch the company’s new product to consumers’ more basic instincts. The “For The Love of Bacon” survey, conducted Dec. 1-2, on behalf of Maple Leaf Foods using 1,006 of the company’s “Angus Reid Forum” online panelists, states 43 per cent […] Read more
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