Livestock

Owners of horses or other equines who plan to sell their animals to meat processors in Canada should be recording health information starting Sunday (Jan. 31), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency advises. That means keeping records of all vaccines or medications administered or fed to their animals, and of any occurrence of illness in those […] Read more

British Columbia has confirmed its plans to self-administer the federal/provincial AgriStability farm income stabilization program for B.C. farmers. B.C.’s Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (BCMAL) is to deliver AgriStability for B.C. farmers starting with the 2009 program year, including 2009 interim AgriStability applications received after Dec. 31, 2009, the provincial and federal governments said in […] Read more

Ontario has rolled out a new on-farm biosecurity support program for the province’s poultry farmers. The new program, announced Thursday, will provide funding to help producers set up or improve biosecurity measures on their farms, based on the National Avian On-Farm Biosecurity Standard. The national standard is billed as “a comprehensive tool designed to identify […] Read more

Quebec meat processing firm Les Viandes Laroche has picked up federal and provincial funds to support a planned expansion worth over $10 million. The federal government on Thursday announced repayable funding of $900,000 from its Business and Regional Growth program and its Community Adjustment Fund for Laroche, while the province announced two separate grants of […] Read more

The retail price of milk in New Brunswick is going up by one cent per litre starting Monday. “The price of milk in New Brunswick will rise 0.7 per cent over last year’s price, a very modest increase, which reflects the increase that dairy producers and processors have had in their input costs,” New Brunswick […] Read more

A new centre aimed at developing businesses in Atlantic Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sectors has picked up phased-in funding from the Nova Scotia and federal governments. The planned Atlantic Centre for Agricultural Innovation will get $500,000 from the province and $2 million from Ottawa toward the first two phases of its 20,000-square-foot facility. The province […] Read more

New Brunswick poultry producer Groupe Westco says its “contract-kill” proposal to supply chickens the province’s lone federally-inspected slaughter plant has been rejected. Westco on Saturday said it proposed an arrangement in which it would continue to ship birds to Nadeau Poultry Farm’s slaughter plant at St-Francois-de-Madawaska, in keeping with the province’s ministerial order Jan. 20 […] Read more

Manitoba’s provincial crop insurance agency will launch a pilot program in 2010 insuring ranchers for a given number of days they can keep their livestock on grass. The pasture days insurance pilot program, developed by Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC) in conjunction with the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association, Manitoba Forage Council and Keystone Agricultural Producers, […] Read more

Veal producer Ecolait plans to use a federal loan of up to $2.7 million to upgrade its slaughter plant technology and boost its storage space. The St-Hyacinthe, Que. company produces up to 12,000 tonnes of meat per year, processing over 100,000 head of milk-fed veal calves raised by over 150 producers. Ecolait holds market shares […] Read more

Another 145 bidders in the federally-funded hog farm transition program (HFTP) will share $25.23 million to fold up their hog operations for at least three years. That leaves about $14 million in program funding for the HFTP’s fourth and final tender, scheduled for March 10, the Canadian Pork Council announced Monday. The council, which administers […] Read more