Livestock
A forum that connected residents of remote northern Manitoba communities with the grocers who supply their food has led to new proposals to shore up northern food security. The Northern Grocers Forums, held in March in Thompson and The Pas, Man., were co-ordinated by the Manitoba Food Charter (MFC) and Bayline Regional Roundtable, to seek […] Read more
New avenues sought for northern groceries
Green groups urge Que. to move on Pronovost
A coalition of farm and environmental groups wants Quebec’s government to pick up the pace of ag reform in the province and follow the recommendations of its own commission on the future of farming in the province. The Coalition SOS-Pronovost, members of which include the Coalition pour un Quebec des regions, the provincial consumers’ union, […] Read more
Ont. food safety, trace program accepting forms
The Ontario government is now accepting applications from farmers and processors looking to build up their capacities for food safety and traceability. The federal and provincial governments on Monday pledged $25.5 million over four years for the province’s Food Safety and Traceability Initiative (FSTI) through the “Best Practices” suite of the Growing Forward ag policy […] Read more
Getting Value From Quality Assurance
Reading Time: 3 minutes Quality assurance programs for agricultural products are rapidly becoming a fact of life for farmers, yet many view the cost of such schemes purely as an expense, with no tangible benefits. But Martin Barker, managing director of UK-based Genesis QA, says it is possible for producers to extract value from QA programs because they generate […] Read more
FCC To Donate $1 Million To Rural Communities
Reading Time: < 1 minute In 2009, Farm Credit Canada is celebrating its 50th anniversary and will donate $1 million from the FCC AgriSpirit Fund to support local projects. The FCC AgriSpirit Fund applications will be accepted online at www.AgriSpirit.cafrom May 1 until June 15, 2009. The FCC AgriSpirit Fund is about making life better for people in rural communities. […] Read more
Day Takes COOL Complaint Off Back Burner
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canada will proceed with a complaint to the World Trade Organization about the U. S. country-of-origin (COOL) meat labelling law, Trade Minister Stockwell Day told reporters in Washington April 27. “I’ve informed Ambassador (Ron) Kirk that we will move forward with the (WTO) consultation,” Day was reported as saying by Reuters. The complaint will now […] Read more
Flu Updates Online
Reading Time: < 1 minute With the H1N1 or “swine” flu news changing daily, and since there are several days between Alberta Farmer’s deadline and receipt in the mailbox, we do not have extensive coverage in this issue. However, our web-site www.albertafarmexpress.cawill contain updates. As of last Tuesday the following countries had restricted imports of animals or meat from Canada. […] Read more
Not All Reindeer Work For Santa
Reading Time: 2 minutes It seems not all reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh. Some can be found just ruminating on select farms throughout Alberta. Ten reindeer farms housing about 135 animals have organized themselves into the Alberta Reindeer Association. One member is Amber Lane Game farm near Leduc, run by Herman, Alice and their son Brendan Bulten. They have a […] Read more
PAMI to build, test anaerobic digester
The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI) will use a federal investment of $350,000 to build a pilot-scale anaerobic digester for potential use in generating energy from livestock wastes. Through its Applied Bioenergy Centre (ABC), PAMI plans to use its digester to evaluate the feasibility of livestock operators and/or municipal landfills producing their own sustainable energy […] Read more
Quarantined Alta. farm culls 500 hogs
REVISED, May 11 — Animal welfare considerations on a quarantined Alberta farm have led its owner to euthanize 500 of his 2,200 hogs. Clearwater County hog producer Arnold Van Ginkel, consulting with federal and provincial animal health officials and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, decided on “humane depopulation” as the best course of action for […] Read more
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