Livestock
Chile’s agriculture ministry has confirmed the human pandemic strain of influenza A H1N1 in over 36,000 turkeys on farms in its central Valparaiso region, marking the virus’ first known crossover to birds. The H1N1 flu strain is reported involved in the deaths of about 1,800 people worldwide, including about 130 in Chile and 71 in […] Read more
H1N1 jumps to turkeys: OIE
Alta. meat strategy laid out online
Alberta’s agriculture department has gone live with a new website laying out the specifics so far in its livestock and meat strategy. The website “details the new implementation plan” for the Alberta Livestock and Meat Strategy (ALMS) and “how Alberta will take advantage of opportunities in the global marketplace.” The site is also intended to […] Read more
Editors’ Picks: Self-grooming cows yield more milk
A group of dairy cows in New York, able to make their own spa dates with a self-grooming device, has been found to yield more milk and develop fewer cases of mastitis. Researchers at Cornell University’s Quality Milk Production Services department at Ithaca, N.Y. and the Sprucehaven Farm and Research Center at Union Springs, north […] Read more
Hog, cattle herds shrinking: StatsCan
The number of hogs and cattle on Canadian farms as of July 1 was down from the same date a year earlier, while the number of sheep remained virtually unchanged, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. Canadian hog producers on July 1 had an estimated 12.1 million hogs on their farms, down 6.7 per cent from July […] Read more
Major Vancouver Island park to limit horse use
British Columbia’s oldest and one of its largest provincial parks will now require permits for visitors to use horses, and only on its old road beds. The province’s environment ministry on Wednesday ruled that applications for possible horse use in Strathcona Provincial Park on Vancouver Island will be “restricted to a very small portion” of […] Read more
CFIA blocks meat from border-town fair: CBC
Some Ontario meat producers say a Canadian Food Inspection Agency crackdown on cross-border sales of meats that aren’t federally inspected has blocked their wares from a local-level food fair in Quebec. Pierre Belanger of Temiskaming, Ont., about 150 km north of North Bay, told CBC Monday that for years he has brought his pasture-fed bison […] Read more
Hog funds seen as trade-neutral
U.S. pork producers shouldn’t have any quarrel with the Canadian government’s recently announced funding package for hog farmers, according to the chairman of the Manitoba Pork Council. Speaking Tuesday on the program Farmscape, Karl Kynoch said the package announced Saturday by Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz is “nothing different than is actually being offered to the […] Read more
Merged OAC departments name new chief
The University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) has named the first director for its new School of Environmental Sciences (SES). Jonathan Newman, who previously chaired OAC’s department of environmental biology, was named to the post effective last Friday and will lead the merged school combining his former department with the department of land resource […] Read more
Exit strategies, restructuring funded for hog farmers
In a bid to reduce Canada’s hog production, the federal government has moved its support from culling hogs to culling hog farms. Speaking Saturday at Glenlea, Man., federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz pledged $75 million for a hog farm transition program, which he said will allow farmers to tender bids for the level of funds […] Read more
Horse Power Moves Into Farmfair
Reading Time: < 1 minute Northlands, Edmonton, has announced that its equine showcase Horse Power will move from the September long weekend to become an integral part of Farmfair International in early November. The change in dates was necessary to ensure that Horse Power remains a sustainable showcase for the equine community and one that will benefit sponsors, stakeholders and […] Read more
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