Livestock
The Saskatchewan government will give cattle and hog producers the option to defer principal payments owed on loans under its short-term cattle and hog loan programs. Hog producers will have the option to defer the principal portion of the first payment from May 2009, to May 2010, the province said Friday. Also removed is the […] Read more
Sask. grants deferrals on livestock loans
Sask. pork plant plans still proceeding
(Resource News International) — The chairman of the Saskatchewan Slaughter Plant Initiative says the group continues to move ahead with plans to construct a one million-head-per-year hog slaughter plant to open by next fall “We know that the best time to start production is the fall, to open when the prices are right, so we’re […] Read more
Interlake ranchers to get AgriStability TAPs
About 850 cattle producers and other ruminant livestock producers in Manitoba’s rain-soaked Interlake region will soon have access to targeted advance payments through AgriStability. “This federal-provincial program has been implemented to address urgent issues so this advance will provide financial assistance now, when producers need it the most,” provincial Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk said in […] Read more
Weak loonie helps, COOL hinders meat exports
(Resource News International) — Canada’s exports of pork and beef have been helped along by devaluation in the Canadian dollar, but the recent implementation of the U.S. government’s mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) has negated some of the benefits, according to industry participants. “Canada’s pork and beef producers get paid in Canadian dollars and because all […] Read more
Real cattle values cut in half since 1989: NFU
Canadian cow-calf producers and smaller-scale feeders are today getting half as much money, adjusted for inflation, for their animals as they did in the 1940s through 1980s. That’s the finding of a year-long study of prices and profitability in the cattle sector by the National Farmers Union, the results of which were released in a […] Read more
Research eyes benefits of trans fats in beef, milk
An Alberta multi-commodity livestock industry fund will put up $2 million for research into naturally-occurring trans fats and their health benefits. The Alberta Livestock Industry Development Fund (ALIDF) said Wednesday it will fund a five-year research program, to be led by the Alberta Institute for Human Nutrition at the University of Alberta. The program is […] Read more
Compost firm to buy bait farm’s worm scat
A Toronto-area company specializing in organic fertilizers made from worm castings has bought a well-known live bait firm’s worm castings business to boost its own output. Forterra Environmental on Monday announced a $45,000 all-stock deal to buy the WormSense business of Pagonis Live Bait, a Toronto family firm that supplies nightcrawlers, red worms, leeches, roe […] Read more
Canada finds 15th BSE case in B.C.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency doesn’t expect the discovery of Canada’s 15th case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease) to affect exports of Canadian cattle or beef. CFIA on Monday confirmed BSE in a seven-year-old B.C. dairy cow, which was found through the national BSE surveillance program. As usual in these cases, […] Read more
Food safety program for sheep outlined
Reading Time: 3 minutes By 2011, all Alberta sheep farmers will have to follow a mandatory provincial program to comply with food safety regulations. The proposed procedure was outlined during an on farm food safety course held at the second annual sheep seminar in Stettler Oct. 24. The seminar by the Battle River research group from Camrose was attended […] Read more
Ont. pilots protection for farms’ species at risk
A pilot program for farmers who have signed onto the Canada-Ontario Environmental Farm Plan will offer incentives for them to improve protection for wild species at risk on their land. The province on Thursday said it will put up $800,000 for the pilot program, with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture administering the funding and the […] Read more
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