Livestock

An incentive for British Columbia cattle producers to age-verify their calves is expected to ensure the province has the highest program participation rate in Canada. The $12-per-calf incentive program administered by the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association (BCCA) has boosted the province’s participation rate in age verification to 47 per cent, the province reported Monday in a […] Read more

The federal government has posted its initial list of communities in which livestock producers will be eligible to defer 2008 income tax owing on sales of breeding stock due to drought. The government has so far designated 23 rural municipalities (RMs) in southern Saskatchewan, three northern Alberta counties and the Peace River Regional District in […] Read more

The Canadian pork industry needs to diversify its exports beyond the U.S. and manage increasing market uncertainty to get past its vulnerable stage, says the managing director of a leading international strategic consultancy and market research firm. Canada is the single most vulnerable pigmeat country in the world because it is so heavily dependent on […] Read more

A veteran of two foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks in the UK says Canada will face a similar outbreak eventually – and that creating the plan to deal with it now is the key to preventing disaster. At a presentation at the Annual General Meeting of Alberta Pork, Dr. Charles Milne, Scotland’s chief veterinary officer, outlined […] Read more

British Columbia’s provincial government plans to put up funds to help build stock trails in the 100 Mile House area and steer cattle clear of nearby endangered grasslands. The province on Monday pledged $120,500 for the Canoe Creek Band to build trails for moving cattle in and around Alberta Lake, away from open grasslands, riparian […] Read more

Cattle producer Rick Burton of Claresholm, Alta., has been elected as the new chairman of the board of Alberta Beef Producers. Burton replaces Erik Butters of Cochrane, who remains on the producer group’s 18-member board of directors. Kevin Boon of Tomahawk was named vice-chairman and Doug Swayer of Pine Lake was named finance chairman at […] Read more

Bison producers wanting access to Alberta public land for their animals to graze will no longer need to draft a management plan in advance. The provincial sustainable resource development (SRD) department, in a bulletin Friday, said bison producers may now get approval by way of a letter from an SRD professional agrologist. Bison producers will […] Read more

The union representing federal food safety inspectors warns that a planned spending freeze will compromise food safety, “making a dangerous situation worse.” The Agriculture Union-PSAC on Friday released the text of what it says is a memo from Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) senior management outlining cost-saving measures, such as: directing staff to “defer, scale […] Read more

Joe Bouchard, a cattle producer from Manitoba’s Interlake region, is the new president of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association. The MCPA named its new executives at its annual meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Brandon. Bouchard, who farms at Fisher Branch, about 150 km north of Winnipeg, replaces Martin Unrau of MacGregor in the president’s chair. […] Read more