Livestock
Hog farmers in Saskatchewan will be offered early access to their expected 2008 AgriStability payout under a Targeted Advance Payment (TAP) program announced Thursday. Eligible producers will be contacted “soon” with information on the amounts of their advances and how to receive those payments, the federal agriculture department said in a release. The 2008 program […] Read more
Sask. hog farmers get new AgriStability TAP
Alta. names new deputy ag minister
Alberta’s new agriculture and rural development department will have a new top bureaucrat, the province announced Thursday. John Knapp, formerly the assistant deputy minister for the environmental assurance division of the environment ministry, has been named the deputy minister for agriculture and rural development. Knapp, who was one of eight deputy appointments announced Thursday, replaces […] Read more
Alta. men charged over care of horses
Two men have now been formally charged in an animal care case that’s reached national notoriety after the seizure of 100 horses and other livestock from a northeastern Alberta farm. The Alberta SPCA said in a release Wednesday that Axel Hinz-Schleuter and Dale Huber have been charged under the Animal Protection Act with 12 counts […] Read more
Alta. government reunites farm, rural portfolios
The Alberta government will remarry agriculture and rural development into a single ministry, the province announced Wednesday. Premier Ed Stelmach announced a reorganization of several ministries and a cabinet shuffle Wednesday after winning a substantially larger majority government March 3 in his first general election as premier. George Groeneveld, Stelmach’s minister of agriculture and food […] Read more
Pilot hunting season set for Que. muskox
A breeding program to help introduce muskox in Quebec has led to a new pilot program to hunt some. The provincial natural resources department on Wednesday announced it will allow a limited kill of up to six animals up until the end of this month, while it continues to gather data about the muskox population […] Read more
P.E.I. pledges $3M for cattle producers
Cattle producers on Prince Edward Island will get direct provincial payments as part of a $3 million support package announced Wednesday. The funding package followed negotiations with cattle industry representatives is aimed at “new initiatives” to “assist producers to adjust to current market conditions and develop improved quality in their herds,” the province said in […] Read more
Maple Leaf says moratorium won’t hinder expansion
(Resource News International) — Maple Leaf plans to continue plans to ramp up production at its Brandon, Man. hog plant, despite the province’s decision to maintain a moratorium on the expansion of existing hog barns and the establishment of new hog barns in three key hog producing regions in the province. “Maple Leaf has had […] Read more
Ridley buys Ky. supplement block maker
Winnipeg feed firm Ridley Inc. has wrapped up a US$3 million deal for Kentucky livestock supplement block maker Ultralyx. Ridley, which maintains head offices in both Manitoba and Minnesota, announced last month that it had signed a letter of intent to buy Ultralyx and its parent company, 4 Seasons Marketing, based in Flemingsburg, northeast of […] Read more
Tendering stage next for new Sask. pork plant
(Resource News International) — Plans to build a new one million-head-per-year hog slaughtering plant at Saskatoon are advancing as planned, with construction set to begin this summer, according to a consultant involved in the project. The Saskatchewan Hog Slaughter Plant Initiative, a partnership between Fishing Lake First Nation, the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board and Big […] Read more
Texas turns away Mexico-bound Canadian cattle
The Texas Department of Agriculture says it will turn back certain types of Canadian breeding cattle that show up at the state’s ports along the Mexican border, pending the outcome of talks between U.S. and Mexican officials. In a press release Friday, Texas ag commissioner Todd Staples said the Mexican government is offering a new […] Read more
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