Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s an elephant in your pasture. “The elephant is disappointment,” said Grant Lastiwka, forage specialist with Union Forage. “When you start to look at the average, Alberta hay yields are around 1.3 tonnes per acre across the province. That’s a low number. “When we look at pasture, all we’re getting in grazing days across many […] Read more
Pick the right forage for productivity and profitability
Productivity in many Alberta pastures is so low it ‘doesn’t pay a lot of bills,’ says forage specialist
Blast kills at least 23 at Afghanistan livestock market
Area shelled in clashes between government forces, Taliban
Kabul | Reuters — At least 23 civilians were killed in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province and dozens were wounded when rockets hit a cattle market on Monday, Afghan government and Taliban officials said. The warring sides blamed each other for the attack on the open-air weekly cattle market in Sangin district, where hundreds of villagers […] Read more
COVID-19 knocks Agribition off 2020 calendar
Organizers look to 2021, plan 'new digital experiences' in meantime
Another of the Prairies’ major agricultural exhibitions has removed itself from the 2020 schedule. The 50th edition of Canadian Western Agribition, which was scheduled for Nov. 30 to Dec. 5 this year at Regina’s Evraz Place exhibition park, has been postponed to Nov. 22-27, 2021. Organizers of the not-for-profit event said Wednesday they made the […] Read more
New pilot program for agri-food labour welcomed
Meat processors, greenhouse and mushroom growers, livestock producers get first crack at program
Ottawa — Federal officials hope a new pilot program will help stabilize ongoing labour issues in certain sectors of the agri-food value chain, while also providing citizenship to some foreign workers. Critics, however, contend more support is needed. “This pilot will help to ensure that farmers and processors have the much-needed skills, experience and labour […] Read more
4-H online auctions to help charities and food banks
Reading Time: < 1 minute Albertans are invited to support local charities, and uplift 4-H members as they complete their livestock projects in new online ways. From now through June 30, there will be 77 sales where 4-H members will be showcasing and offering steers, lambs, hogs and/or goats for purchase. There are 24 charity projects — 22 steers and two […] Read more
Saskatchewan to adjust WLPIP premiums for producers
Province also opts in to fund AgriRecovery set-aside plan
The Saskatchewan government plans to temporarily subsidize livestock producers entering the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP) against its recent jump in program premium costs. The province on Thursday announced it will provide $5 million to “partially offset” WLPIP premiums, which it noted have risen “significantly” since the end of February this year on COVID-19-induced […] Read more
Calgary Stampede cancelled for 2020
Province's limits on gatherings cover all major summer events
Alberta’s confirmation that its restrictions on gatherings include all annual summer events has led organizers of the Calgary Stampede to cancel the event for the first time in 97 years. “As a community celebration, the cancellation of our annual event comes with our community and public health and safety front of mind,” Stampede president Dana […] Read more
Why closed cattle herds are like unicorns
It takes extraordinary measures to truly have a closed herd, and that’s why vaccinations are needed
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Note: This article has been edited and condensed.) A surprising proportion of producers believe they run a closed herd. The 2017 Western Canadian Cow-Calf Survey found that of approximately 25 per cent of respondents who did not vaccinate their cows and heifers against reproductive diseases such as IBR and BVD, over half said their reason was because […] Read more
China reclassifies dogs as pets, not livestock
New guidelines drafted in post-virus regulatory push
Shanghai | Reuters — China has drawn up new guidelines to reclassify dogs as pets rather than livestock, the agriculture ministry said, part of a response to the coronavirus outbreak that the Humane Society called a potential “game changer” in animal welfare. Though dog meat remains a delicacy in many regions, the ministry of agriculture […] Read more
Manitoba eases load limits for grains, livestock, vegetables, fertilizer
'Essential' commodities allowed at normal axle weights on more roads
Springtime load limits on certain Manitoba highways will be lifted early this year for transport of crops, livestock, fertilizer and other “essential” goods. Provincial Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler announced Tuesday that certain essential goods may be trucked at “normal loading” axle weights on highways usually subject to Level 1 road restrictions during spring thaw. Essential […] Read more
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