Livestock

The Manitoba Pork Marketing Co-op plans to close its St. Boniface hog assembly yard this Friday after 43 years, as it plans a new location on Winnipeg’s outskirts. And in light of lower operating costs as a result, the co-op said it will lower its marketing fee starting July 7. The MPMC, in a release […] Read more

Farmers in Canada and the U.S. left holding flocks of pigeons after the reported bankruptcy of Pigeon King International shouldn’t just release the birds, a national fanciers’ group urged Monday. Ontario farm media reported last week that farmers in several provinces who had invested in meat pigeons through Waterloo, Ont. company PKI have now received […] Read more

Members of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association will support the idea of a new umbrella group to represent Saskatchewan cattle producers. A resolution to support such a group, to be called the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association, got approval from SSGA members at the group’s annual meeting, which wrapped up Tuesday in Saskatoon. “The stock growers agreed […] Read more

Last winter’s snowfall and wet conditions in parts of the Prairies may lead to exposed anthrax spores on pasture land, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned Wednesday. CFIA has already confirmed its first cases of anthrax this spring on a farm in the Rural Municipality of King George, southeast of Rosetown, Sask. The cases were […] Read more

Ed Lorraine, a Colchester County cattle producer who was Nova Scotia’s agriculture minister from 1997 to 1999, died early Wednesday morning at age 80, the provincial government reported. “Mr. Lorraine was not only a tremendous representative for his constituency but was an invaluable advocate for the agricultural community during his time in government and throughout […] Read more

Atlantic Canada’s agriculture ministers say they’ve agreed to work toward a “more co-operative” approach on issues of shared interest and plan to talk more about formalizing that approach. Meeting Monday in Little Rapids, near Corner Brook, Nfld., the four ministers agreed to “further explore the concept of an Atlantic provinces’ memorandum of understanding (MOU) for […] Read more

Alberta’s control program for chronic wasting disease (CWD) seems to be having an effect in limiting its further spread, the province said Tuesday. The provincial sustainable resource development department reported Tuesday that it has found 24 new cases of CWD in over 8,500 hunted and “removed” deer through its control programs and through submissions of […] Read more

A study of Canadian consumers’ meat buying habits and preferences will now extend further up the meat value chain, the George Morris Centre announced Monday. The Guelph-based ag think tank’s study, Consumer data for farmers and the agri-food industry, recently wrapped up 12 months of researching purchasing behaviours and drivers of 7,700 consumers of pork, […] Read more

Any major moves to reclassify what constitutes a “farm” in British Columbia for municipal tax purposes will now wait until the 2010 tax year. The provincial government will accept that interim recommendation as one of three from its farm assessment review panel, which plans to hold hearings in coming months to discuss that issue. Specifically, […] Read more

Saskatchewan’s farm and ranch water infrastructure program (FRWIP) will get up to an extra $9 million in federal cash to support projects in the province’s dry southwest. On top of the province’s $6 million in FRWIP funding, the extra cash, to be delivered through the federal/provincial AgriRecovery program, brings total FRWIP funds to $15 million. […] Read more