Livestock
Plans to make Nova Scotia Agricultural College an arm of Halifax’s Dalhousie University have entered their formal negotiation phase. Negotiations taking place this month and in February are to centre on “budget, governance, human resources, property and assets, and high-level operations,” the two schools said in a statement. Lawyer Rod Burgar, CEO of Halifax business […] Read more
Dalhousie/NSAC merger goes to formal negotiations
Ont. farmers urge halt to wind turbine development
Claiming an “untenable” and polarizing debate in rural Ontario over an inefficient power source, the province’s general farm organization now wants to see an end to industrial-scale wind turbine development. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) on Friday rolled out its new position statement on the issue and plans to present it to the provincial […] Read more
South Korea allowing Canadian beef ‘immediately’
Canadian beef and veal processed by approved plants from cattle under 30 months of age have the green light for immediate exports to South Korea. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and International Trade Minister Ed Fast announced Friday morning that Korea, which over a decade ago was the fourth-biggest foreign buyer of Canadian beef, has published […] Read more
Quebec’s oldest cheesemaker backed for upgrades
The oldest cheese company in Quebec has picked up $1.4 million from a federal loan and provincial loan guarantee for modernization work at its plant. Fromagerie Perron, based in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region at St-Prime, about 110 km west of Chicoutimi, will get a $752,400 "repayable contribution" from the business and regional growth program of Canada […] Read more
Food inspection budget cuts for CFIA jeered
The union representing federal food safety inspectors plans to ask Maple Leaf Foods and other processors to lobby for a reversal in proposed cuts to the federal food safety program. In its 2011-12 report on plans and priorities, a three-year expenditure plan each government department and agency must provide, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said […] Read more
Alta. program aims to fill rural high-speed gaps
The Alberta government has set up a $5 million fund to help try to close any high-speed internet service gaps remaining in rural areas of the province. "This is about kids who want to research homework, families that want to stay connected and farmers and ranchers who want to market their products," provincial Agriculture Minister […] Read more
Klassen: Weaker feedgrains support feeder cattle
Feeder cattle prices in Western Canada were $2 lower to $3 higher per hundredweight (cwt) last week, with many factors influencing the market. In central Alberta, Simmental steers weighing 429 pounds sold for $191/cwt; Charolais-cross steers averaging 684 pounds sold for $151/cwt in the same region. Mixed exotic cross steers weighing 850 pounds traded at […] Read more
Cattleman named Manitoba ag minister in shuffle
A northwestern Manitoba cow-calf producer and former municipal reeve will be the province’s new minister for agriculture, food and rural initiatives. Ron Kostyshyn, who replaced retiring ex-deputy premier Rosann Wowchuk last fall as the NDP MLA for the Swan River riding, was named to the portfolio Friday in a partial cabinet shuffle by Premier Greg […] Read more
U of Guelph livestock centre to kick off with dairy phase
Development of a new University of Guelph livestock research centre, expected to model sustainable systems in animal agriculture, will start in the dairy sector. The university on Wednesday announced plans for the Research and Innovation Centre, Dairy Phase, to be built at Elora, the current site of one of the school’s 14 off-campus research stations, […] Read more
Lower meat earnings drive down Cargill’s Q2
Compared to its "strongest quarter ever" in the year-earlier period, it could be argued that Cargill’s second quarter (Q2) in fiscal 2012 had few places to go other than down. However, the privately-held agrifood giant, which releases limited earnings data on a quarterly basis, noted Tuesday its combined meat businesses "experienced one of their weakest […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
