Reading Time: 2 minutes More people are interested in a career in agriculture these days and horticulture offers many opportunities, says a commercial horticulture specialist. “Increased interest in local production as well as the desire to know where and how food is grown means more people are looking to get into agriculture and primary production,” said Dustin Morton. Horticulture […] Read more
Opportunities abound in horticulture, says provincial specialist
The financial startup costs are typically lower and a host of information resources is available
How the pork sector survived the attack of a killer virus
PEDv decimated the U.S. hog herd, but Canada showed how to do biosecurity right
Reading Time: 4 minutes If you want expert advice on biosecurity, talk to a Canadian hog farmer — and cattle producers should probably do just that. The country’s outstanding record on controlling the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has a host of lessons for the cattle sector, says a swine veterinarian who was deeply involved in Alberta’s battle against PEDv. […] Read more
We need a better approach to dealing with wildlife
Beef 911: Farming has created a great environment for wildlife but farmers are paying a steep price for the damage it causes
Reading Time: 4 minutes There have been many articles on the escalating conflict between wildlife and agriculture (both livestock and grain production) in certain areas of Canada. Our governments are struggling as to what to do and the most recent survey on wildlife damage by Alberta Beef Producers and the Miistakis Institute shows a high percentage of farmers impacted […] Read more
U.S. ends avian flu-related limits on Ont. poultry
Reuters — The U.S. Agriculture Department on Tuesday lifted restrictions on imports of poultry and poultry products from Ontario in the latest sign the farm sector is starting to recover from a severe outbreak of bird flu. USDA limited imports from Ontario in April after a highly pathogenic (“high-path”) strain of H5N2 avian flu was […] Read more
Ont. books drop in bee death ‘incidents’ at planting
Early data from federal pesticide regulators appear to suggest Ontario’s bee yards are moving past a spell of unusually high death losses seen around the 2012 and 2013 planting seasons. Combining the numbers of acute honey bee mortality “incidents” by bee yard in Ontario in the 2015 pre-planting and planting periods, up to June 11, Health Canada’s […] Read more
Some timetables loosen as Ont. neonic limits become law
Ontario’s corn and soybean growers and seed dealers will have slightly more time to manage some of their new duties as the province’s limits on neonicotinoid pesticides become legally binding. Ontario’s environment ministry on Tuesday announced its new provincial regulations — with a handful of changes from the draft legislation first published in March — […] Read more
New swine health network to track animal diseases
Network relies on vets to paint a picture of swine animal health seen in their practices
Reading Time: 2 minutes The newly created Western Canadian Swine Health Intelligence Network will help keep producers informed about swine disease monitoring and disease knowledge transfer in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. “This is a wonderful system. It keeps people informed about what’s going on in the industry. We’re encouraging all vets to participate,” said Dr. Egan Brockhoff, a swine […] Read more
Ontario won’t widen comment window on neonics: GFO
The public comment period on Ontario’s planned regulations for neonicotinoid seed treatments will close Thursday as scheduled, despite requests from the province’s grain grower group for an extension. The province has “refused” to extend the public comment period on the use of the insecticide group in seed treatments, Grain Farmers of Ontario said in a […] Read more
Alarm bells ringing in Alberta as invasive mussels move west
The arrival of the devastating invaders in Manitoba has led to mandatory inspections here
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta introduced tough new legislation last month requiring mandatory boat inspections — a ramping up of the effort to keep zebra and quagga mussels out of the province. But officials admit that what’s really needed is public buy-in — and a little luck — to keep these devastating waterway invaders at bay. “If we ‘miss […] Read more
Saudi Arabia bans Ont. poultry, egg products
Reuters — Saudi Arabia, the world’s second-largest importer of chicken broiler meat, has banned imports of poultry meat and egg products from Ontario due to the presence of avian flu on three Ontario farms. The market was worth about $825,000 in 2014, representing 0.4 per cent of Ontario’s poultry exports, said Patrick Girard, spokesman for […] Read more
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