Livestock
An annual dinner raising funds for groups promoting organic agriculture has earmarked this year’s revenues for North America’s first-ever degree-level organic agriculture program. Organic Advocates, a non-profit association that supports organic food awareness and sustainability, said Tuesday it will present a cheque for $5,000 to the University of Guelph on Jan. 31, during the annual […] Read more
Chefs back “threatened” organic ag program
N.B. diverts all chicken production to Nadeau
New Brunswick’s provincial government has temporarily ordered that all chicken produced in the province must be processed at its only federally-inspected poultry plant. Agriculture Minister Ron Ouellette on Wednesday issued orders directing chicken production to Nadeau Poultry Farm’s plant at St-Francois-de-Madawaska and placing a temporary moratorium on any increases of chicken exports from Ontario and […] Read more
Ont. vet gets house arrest over Holstein embryos
An Ontario veterinarian will serve nine months of house arrest for falsifying over 100 veterinary certificates relating to exported Holstein embryos. Brian Hill was convicted Nov. 17 in the Ontario Court of Justice in Woodstock, on a “global count” of violating the federal Health of Animals Act, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday. The […] Read more
Klassen: Weaker feedgrain values support feeders
Jan. 18 — The bearish U.S. Department of Agriculture corn report had a positive effect on the North American feeder cattle complex. Prices in the U.S. southern Plains were quite strong and feedlots appear to have renewed optimism. Lightweight feeder cattle under 600 pounds sold for $4-$6 per hundredweight (cwt) higher than last week. In […] Read more
Ontario names new ag minister in shuffle
A southwestern Ontario MPP from one of the province’s key farming regions will be Premier Dalton McGuinty’s new agriculture minister. McGuinty on Monday announced a thorough cabinet shuffle that will see Carol Mitchell, the two-term MPP for Huron-Bruce and a former parliamentary assistant to the minister of agriculture (2003-06), become Ontario’s minister of agriculture, food […] Read more
N.S. beef producers get interest assistance on loans
Beef producers in Nova Scotia can now get assistance from the province to help pay down interest on their short-term loans from 2009, 2010 and/or 2011. The provincial government on Monday described its new program as “a starting point” to reposition the province’s beef industry through investment in “profitable and sustainable” plans. “Producers will have […] Read more
CCIA To Expand Phone, Web Services
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canada’s national cattle identification agency plans to expand the hours of operation for its call centre and expand its website to include publications en francais. Starting Jan. 4, the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency’s (CCIA) call centre will operate from 6 a. m. to 6:30 p. m. MST at 1-877-909-2333 (BEEF). The CCIA website will also […] Read more
Merged Hog Marketing Service Names GM
Reading Time: < 1 minute A new merged marketing service centre for Saskatchewan and Manitoba hog producers has turned to one of its parents’ head offices for its new general manager. Perry Mohr, CEO of Manitoba Pork Marketing Co-op, is the new general manager for Winnipegbased h@ms Marketing Services, jointly owned by MPMC and Saskatchewan’s SPI Marketing Group. The two […] Read more
McDonald’s Vice-President Hears Rancher’s Beefs
Reading Time: 3 minutes “We pay a premium today for the firewalls that we have in place on beef.” The first rule of marketing is to know who the customers are and what they want. In the cattle business, that’s the buyers of burger meat, because up to 60 per cent of every steer that goes down the kill […] Read more
Tax Deferrals Extended In Alberta
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Government of Canada announced Jan. 11 that more Alberta livestock producers affected by drought will be eligible for a federal tax deferral. “The Government of Canada continues to deliver real results for farmers and ranchers by offering tax deferrals to the producers whose operations are suffering due to the hot, dry season,” said Agriculture […] Read more
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