Livestock
The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) Alumni Foundation has launched a $1.25 million endowment campaign to mark the 125th anniversary of the college’s two-year diploma program. OAC currently has about 800 students at four University of Guelph campuses. The campaigners plan to call on over 5,000 OAC diploma grads now living in Canada, and will also […] Read more
OAC alumni plan new endowment
Quebec seeks talks with pork sector
Seeking to calm what one major farm leader has called an “explosive” situation, Quebec Agriculture Minister Laurent Lessard today named longtime provincial civil servant Guy Coulombe as his representative for talks with stakeholders in the province’s pork industry. Coulombe is to lead the discussions between the industry’s principal players and file a report for Lessard […] Read more
Nova Scotia maps wind
Landowners in Nova Scotia can soon go online to assess their property’s potential to host wind turbines. Researchers at l’Universite de Moncton and Nova Scotia Community College have set up a wind atlas for Nova Scotia, illustrating how much wind is available in the province and where to find it. The new atlas is expected […] Read more
Ag ministers “optimistic” on Atlantic Beef plant
The Maritime provinces’ agriculture ministers agreed today to speed up negotiations aimed at saving the region’s only federally-inspected beef slaughter facility. Meeting in Moncton, the ministers from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island reviewed a series of reports on the history and current status of the Atlantic Beef Products plant, which was founded […] Read more
U.S. to take older Canadian cattle, beef starting Nov. 19
The United States will allow imports of older live Canadian cattle and their beef effective Nov. 19, U.S. agriculture officials announced this morning. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it will expand its list of allowable imports from countries recognized as posing “minimal risk” for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) — […] Read more
Canada adopts farm animal genetics action plan
The Canadian government has adopted the Global Plan of Action for Farm Animal Genetic Resources, an international framework to conserve and use animal genetic resources. “This global plan will help Canadian breeders and researchers access genetic resources from other countries as well as further support the export of Canadian animal genetics,” said Gerry Ritz, the […] Read more
N.S. won’t fund Atlantic Beef plant
Ag department officials in Nova Scotia who have studied the latest feasibility report on the Atlantic Beef Products packing plant in P.E.I. are advising their government not to put up cash to sustain the plant, CBC News reported today. CBC quoted Nova Scotia Agriculture Minister Brooke Taylor as saying Thursday that while the plant is […] Read more
N.S. gears up for Open Farm Day
Forty farms in Nova Scotia will open their doors to the public during the province’s annual Open Farm Day on Sept. 23. The day will be based on the theme of “Buy Local…Eat Fresh,” in keeping with the province’s new Select Nova Scotia campaign to encourage consumers to buy locally-grown or -raised products where available. […] Read more
Atlantic Beef deadline flexible: Ghiz
P.E.I. Premier Robert Ghiz said yesterday he’s willing to extend the deadline past the end of September before making a final decision on the province’s future involvement in the Atlantic Beef Products packing plant. The province has been a minority shareholder since 2002 and also built the waste treatment plant to support the facility, which […] Read more
Funding to spur E. coli vaccine production
Biotech firm Bioniche Life Sciences of Belleville, Ont., plans to use $2 million in Ontario government funding to build up production of a vaccine expected to cut down levels of E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria in cattle. The vaccine, which is “indicated” to reduce the amount of E. coli bacteria cattle shed in their dung, will […] Read more
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