Livestock
A Nova Scotia dairy processor’s gain will be a loss in central Ontario as retail ice cream giant Baskin-Robbins moves to close the last of its company-owned plants. Baskin-Robbins, the world’s biggest chain of ice cream specialty stores, said Wednesday it will permanently shut its facility at Peterborough, Ont. by mid-October, lay off its 80 […] Read more
Baskin-Robbins to shut Peterborough ice cream plant
Japan seen relaxing rules on U.S. beef in November
Japan is expected to relax restrictions on imports of U.S. beef as early as November to make it easier for Tokyo to take part in Washington-led trans-Pacific free trade talks, the Nikkei business daily said Wednesday. Currently Japan allows imports of U.S. beef only from cattle aged 20 months or younger, but given ebbing global […] Read more
Veterinary IV pioneer Bernard McSherry, 94
A memorial celebration will be held Aug. 7 for renowned veterinary pathologist and Guelph professor Bernard McSherry, who developed electrolyte solutions for calves that led to today’s use of intravenous fluids to treat sick livestock. McSherry died Thursday at a Guelph hospice at age 94, the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College reported Tuesday. Born […] Read more
Ontario general farm groups to appeal lost status
Ontario’s top three general farm organizations head into hearings this week to try and regain their lost accreditations, through which the province’s farmers have paid the annual memberships that fund the groups. The province’s Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal will hear appeals from the National Farmers Union-Ontario (NFU-O) on Wednesday, Ontario Federation of […] Read more
Nationwide, mandatory hog traceability floated
Public review is now underway on federal regulations that will make it mandatory for Canada’s hog farmers to take part in the national PigTrace program. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday said its proposed regulations, now open for comment until Aug. 13, will require "custodians of pigs" to identify all farmed pigs and farmed […] Read more
Klassen: Little hope for feeder market
Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were $2-$4 per hundredweight (cwt) lower on very thin summer volumes. Feeder cattle over 800 pounds were experiencing sharper losses, led by the weak U.S. market. Barley prices in southern Alberta reached historical highs of $285 per tonne, and it appears that this feedgrain rally is not over. Adverse conditions […] Read more
Que. producers still on hook for Colbex loan
Quebec dairy and cattle producers who bought in on Eastern Canada’s main cull cattle slaughter plant will keep paying for it through 2014. Producers are now receiving their invoices for the ongoing $53.86-per-head levy on incoming cull cattle, on which the Federation des producteurs de bovins du Quebec (FPBQ) borrowed $32 million in 2008 to […] Read more
Facing parched pastures, U.S. ranchers cull cattle
U.S. ranchers are rushing to sell off some of their cattle as the worst drought in nearly 25 years dries up pastures, thins hay supplies and sends feed costs skyrocketing. The more desperate in the U.S. Midwest are hauling water into areas where creeks have run dry and are scrambling to secure scarce and high-priced […] Read more
Feds back merger of livestock traceability data
The federal government will put up half a million dollars to create a single national data management system for livestock traceability in Canada. Pierre Lemieux, the federal parliamentary secretary for agriculture, announced the funding for the creation of a new single system, Canadian Agri-Traceability Services (CATS), on Friday at the Calgary Stampede. CATS will provide […] Read more
Manitoba ag lending agency lifts limits on loans
Manitoba’s provincial farm lending agency has raised its ceiling on farm loans and stripped out several of its limits on who can apply for financing and why. Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC) announced changes to its lending mandate Thursday that "will help more farmers access long-term, fixed-rate financing and initiatives for young farmers that MASC […] Read more
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