Reading Time: 3 minutes Jammed packed doesn’t begin to describe it. On Nov. 20 in Edmonton, Patrick and Cherylynn Bos were named co-winners of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers award. Then it was back to Rock Ridge Dairy near Ponoka to fire up the most technologically advanced goat milking parlour on the continent and train 700 skeptical does to use […] Read more
VIDEO: Busy Ponoka couple named Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers
Alberta Lamb Producers seeking directors
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Lamb Producers is looking for four producers to serve on its board of directors to represent Zones 1, 2, 3, and 6. Interested producers should visit ablamb.ca or contact the office (403-948-8533) for a nomination form. Forms need to be completed and sent back to the office seven days prior to the elections at […] Read more
Range of byproduct feeds available for sheep
Reading Time: < 1 minute Dry conditions, short supplies of forage, expensive supplements, and tight profit margins have many sheep producers looking for alternate feeds. “Canola or grain screenings, potato waste, grass seed cleanings, or beet pulp are just a few of the byproducts that can be used to feed sheep,” said Susan Hosford, a provincial sheep industry specialist. “Byproduct […] Read more
Saputo buys goat cheesemaker Woolwich Dairy
Canada’s biggest cheesemaker is expanding its reach in the goat dairy market with a friendly all-cash takeover of Ontario goat cheese firm Woolwich Dairy. Montreal-based Saputo announced Monday it has paid $80 million for the family-owned cheesemaking company, including its three plants and distribution centre. Based at Orangeville, north of Guelph, Woolwich has operated since […] Read more
Livestock seen threatened as biting insects press north
Bluetongue’s most recent appearance in the Canadian cattle herd may be a taste of what’s to come as insect species expand northward, a new study warns. Anna Zuliani, previously a graduate student in veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary (UCVM), recently published a paper on how geographical distribution of biting midges relates to the […] Read more
Yukon to help cover livestock vets’ travel costs
The Yukon government has launched a pilot program to help cover veterinarians’ travel and service expenses for farm calls. The territory government on Tuesday announced it will accept up to 30 farmers for the pilot of the Veterinary Services Program, running from now to the end of March 2016. The program will reimburse participating veterinarians […] Read more
Canada losing bluetongue-free status
New findings of bluetongue in cattle in Canada — outside the one area of the country where the virus previously gained a toehold — have trading partners shutting their ports to Canadian livestock genetics and animals. Three cattle from one farm in southwestern Ontario’s Chatham-Kent municipality have now tested positive for bluetongue serotype 13 — […] Read more
Australian sheep unofficially world’s woolliest
Sydney | Reuters — Around 40 kilograms (88 lbs.) of wool has been sheared from a sheep found near Australia’s capital, the RSPCA said Thursday, making him unofficially the world’s woolliest. The animal, named Chris by his rescuers, was discovered on the northern outskirts of Canberra on Wednesday and was said to be struggling to […] Read more
Cattle herd still shrinking in StatsCan estimates
The size of Canada’s cattle herd is still in decline and almost a quarter smaller than its peak in 2005, Statistics Canada reports. The federal statistics agency on Thursday released estimates showing the herd at 13 million cattle on farms on July 1 this year, down 2.1 per cent from the same date in 2014. […] Read more
Quebec plans new legal status for animals
Quebec’s agriculture minister has tabled a new provincial government bill to raise the legal status of domestic and farmed animals in the province beyond that of “furniture.” Pierre Paradis on Friday introduced Bill 54 in the provincial assembly, with the stated goal of enshrining animals in Quebec’s Civil Code as sentient beings — that is, feeling and […] Read more
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