Recognizing irradiation as a safe and effective treatment to reduce bacteria in ground beef, Health Canada has published new regulations allowing the sale of irradiated fresh and frozen raw ground beef. The final regulations were published in Canada Gazette, Part II on February 22, and take effect immediately. Irradiation involves exposing food to low levels... Read More
Category: Livestock
In the feedlot business, as elsewhere, necessity is the mother of innovation. So when Stronks Feedlot at Picture Butte, Alta., couldn't find software to fit its operation, they invented it. On this season of the TechTour, together with Dow AgroSciences, we're shining the spotlight on on-farm innovations and inventions that improve efficiency and productivity. Hampered... Read More
Recent positive rabies cases on a few farms in Ontario's Perth County are a stark reminder of this ever-present, reportable disease in livestock. While livestock cases of rabies are rare, it's safe to assume the virus circulates in wildlife nearly constantly, albeit at a low level. Exposed livestock, likely from a bite, tend to exhibit... Read More
While the U.S. dairy industry has raised its voice in calling on the Trump administration to pressure Canada into allowing more dairy imports, Dairy Farmers of Canada has kept a relatively quiet profile over the last few months. The national dairy producer group appears to have chosen to stay out of the spotlight with Canada's... Read More
It's time for another episode of the Beef Market Update! Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko are fresh off their trip to Nashville and they have much to discuss. Canada has agreed that they will attend the the March "post-TPP" meeting in Chile with most of the other countries minus the United States. Also invited is... Read More
Managing a feedyard used to be fairly simple. You bought the cattle, you processed the cattle, the cattle were fed, and then sold. And that process repeated itself. In 2017, this kind of lack of attention to detail is a money-losing guarantee. Collecting data and understanding what is happening in your feedyard is essential to... Read More
One of the highlights of every NCBA Trade Show and Convention is the release of the Cattlefax report. Cattlemen and women from across North America gather on the Thursday morning to hear the full-hour presentation by the Cattlefax team. Shaun was able to catch up with market analyst Kevin Good on the trade show floor... Read More
Ontario Ag Minister Jeff Leal was in Guelph on Wednesday to announce provincial funding for upgrades at Cargill's beef processing plant. The province is contributing $582,000 toward a $3.5 million upgrade that will enable Cargill to produce a protein-rich animal feed ingredient using raw by-product. "By investing in technology that will support local production, we... Read More
Count pastured chicken production as another frontier for automation and robotics in agriculture. With demand for pastured chicken rising rapidly, Manitoba farmer Daniel Badiou, through his startup Ukko Robotics, has started manufacturing automated mobile chicken coops. That's right. They're basically robots for raising chickens outside. "Every day it will move by itself, and it can... Read More
As officials left the recent trilateral meeting between Canada, United States, and Mexico, RealAgriculture's Shaun Haney was able to talk about the outcome of the meeting with Colin Woodall, National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) vice president of government relations. When Shaun talked to John Masswohl, with the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, it was clear that the... Read More