Livestock
The Prince Edward Island and federal governments have agreed to set up a new working group to “explore options to deal with current issues facing the red meat sector.” The announcement Monday follows meetings last week in Ottawa between provincial Agriculture Minister George Webster and his federal counterpart, Gerry Ritz. Webster and Ritz said they […] Read more
P.E.I., feds to form red meat working group
Ont. to boost livestock disease response powers
The Ontario government has introduced legislation to beef up its ability to respond when or if diseases hit its livestock or poultry sectors. The government on Monday introduced its new Animal Health Act, which it said will “provide measures to assist in the prevention, detection, response to and control of animal diseases and other hazards […] Read more
License term lengthened for Alta. butchers
Come Jan. 1, 2010, provincially inspected meat plants and mobile butcher operations in Alberta will only have to renew their licenses every five years, up from one. Provincial Agriculture Minister George Groeneveld last week put through an order-in-council amending the province’s meat inspection regulations, effective when license renewals are due in the new year. The […] Read more
Swine traceability ear tags now available
The Canadian Pork Council plans to focus on Canada’s swine breeding herds as it moves to make national-level traceability ear tags available for hog producers’ use. Producers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan can place orders and the other provinces will come online within the next few days or the next few weeks, CPC traceability program manager […] Read more
B.C. farm animal care organization funded
Federal funding will go to set up a new farm animal care council in British Columbia and establish new industry standards for animal welfare in the province. The federal government on Saturday announced over $500,000 in Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) funding for the B.C. Agriculture Council to set up the B.C. Farm Animal […] Read more
Hog loan program, exit funding on deck
Ag lenders are expected to be ready to start working Monday (Oct. 5) with hog farmers on business plans needed for federally-guaranteed loans, while the forms needed for federal funding to exit the hog sector are to follow. Farm Credit Canada and other financial institutions are to negotiate with applying hog farmers for loans specific […] Read more
Que. plans aid program for racehorse breeders
The Quebec government plans to announce details soon for a $9.2 million ad-hoc aid program for Standardbred racehorse breeders. Provincial Agriculture Minister Claude Bechard is expected to announce the funding in coming days for horse producers and others, through a program that will run until the end of March 2012, the province said in a […] Read more
Ridley buys Minnesota feed block business
Winnipeg feed manufacturer Ridley Inc. has bought its way further into the compressed feed block business in the U.S. Midwest. The company, which also maintains offices at Mankato, near Minneapolis, announced Friday it’s bought the equipment and intellectual property of Golden Lyk, based at Morris, Minn., about 180 km south of Fargo, N.D. The company […] Read more
Clock ticking on COOL challenge, Easter warns
The federal Liberals’ agriculture critic is calling for a hard timeline on the federal government’s plan to challenge the U.S. government’s mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL). Prince Edward Island MP Wayne Easter noted in the House of Commons Wednesday that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz had announced the government’s plans to challenge COOL at the World Trade […] Read more
Alta. backs new regional ag event venue
The Alberta government has pledged $3.2 million for development of a new venue for livestock- and ag-related events in the province’s central region. The funding, announced in a release Saturday, will flow through the province’s lottery-funded Major Community Facilities Program (MCFP) to the Ponoka Agriculture Events Centre Society. The society is a joint venture of […] Read more
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