Livestock
The investigations into Canada’s 14th and 15th cases of BSE-infected cattle have turned up no evidence that the country’s cattle herd and beef consumers are at any greater risk. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday released its reports on the two cases, both born well after Canada first imposed a ban on feeding ruminant […] Read more
Cases 14, 15 don’t change BSE risk level: CFIA
Feds back company that turns biowaste into energy
The federal government is investing in a company that makes self-contained power generators that will turn animal manure and other biowaste into electricity. MP Scott Reid (Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington) announced today in a media release that the federal government is furnishing up to $480,500 in repayable funding to Powerbase Energy Systems. “This project […] Read more
Quebec kefir granule producer gets development loan
A Quebec company is getting a $386, 500 loan from the federal government to commercialize a revolutionary new process to produce kefir granuals for the cosmetics, human health and animal nutrition markets. Kefir grains are a combination of bacterias and yeasts used to innoculate animal milk, much like live bacterial cultures are used to […] Read more
Man. hog farmers eye development strategy
The Manitoba Pork Council wants hog farmers in the province to put their views toward a draft sustainable development strategy for the industry. The council said Tuesday it’s developing the strategy “in an effort to address the impact of outside forces on swine industry development before they become a factor.” According to a report on […] Read more
Sask. veterinary college’s expansions funded
The federal Western Economic Diversification agency has pledged over $2.7 million for the Western College of Veterinary Medicine to complete its large animal clinic renovation and diagnostics laboratory expansion. “Investments such as these will lead to new diagnostic tests that will protect Canada’s livestock industry and the health and safety of Canadians, their families, and […] Read more
Alberta’s AFSC boosts farm lending limits
Alberta’s provincial ag financing agency has raised its bar for how much a farmer or agribusiness can borrow. Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) on Wednesday said it has increased the maximum loan or guarantee it provides to any individual or entity to a “cumulative total” of $5 million, up from $2 million. AFSC also raised […] Read more
N.L. food development centre to boost capacity
The Newfoundland and Labrador government will put up over $170,000 to expand the Centre for Agrifood Development at the College of the North Atlantic. The centre, at CNA’s Carbonear campus, about 110 km west of St. John’s, will get $170,720 from the province’s Innovation Enhancement Program (IEP) to add a food technologist and a plant […] Read more
Sask. seeks buyers for Thomson Meats
The Saskatchewan government plans to ramp up its efforts to shed the assets of its cash-losing meat processing plant at Melfort. “We believe that government has no role in owning a meat processing plant,” Ag Minister Bob Bjornerud said in a release Tuesday, announcing the province’s plans to find buyers for Thomson Meats Ltd. “Our […] Read more
Francophone farmers seen shorted on AAFC service
An audit of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s ability to serve farmers in both official languages finds many of its offices in Western Canada lacking. Graham Fraser, the federal commissioner of official languages, on March 30 released the results of his audit of AAFC, conducted between November 2006 and November 2007. “The bilingual capacity of offices […] Read more
Calf Health Is Job One For Dairy Producers
Reading Time: 2 minutes “It’s imperative that we have this stuff very rapidly cooled. We need to treat it just like we treat milk that we’re going to sell.” Bob James says that while milk production is key to a successful dairy herd, producers might think more about measuring their success in raising healthy dairy calves. James, extension scientist […] Read more
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