I hope you have time to take a look around at the agricultural landscape this holiday weekend, and celebrate Food Day Canada as we’ve known it over the past decade or so. Because in another 12 months, our nation’s agri-food culture could feel much different. Food Day Canada is described by its founder, culinary pioneer... Read More
Category: Livestock
Plans and funding for a $25 million "Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence" were announced at the University of Saskatchewan on Thursday. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Saskatchewan ag minister Lyle Stewart were in Saskatoon to announce $10 million in funding for the centre under Growing Forward 2. The U of S has committed... Read More
It’s tough to talk about the cattle markets and not focus solely on the demand side which, if we’re being honest, has been nothing short of impressive. But price is a function of two components — supply being the balance to demand. While Canada’s beef herd continues to contract, ranchers in the United States have... Read More
Quebec farmers rallied outside the constituency office of federal Minister of State Maxime Bernier in Sainte-Marie on Friday. They demanded the federal government maintain the status quo for supply management in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The rally was organized by Quebec farm group Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA). Speaking on the phone after the... Read More
Livestock producers in Western Canada who have downsized their herds due to drought and feed shortages will be allowed to defer income from the sale of breeding stock when paying income tax. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz today released a list of designated regions in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba where tax deferrals have been... Read More
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and International Trade Minister Ed Fast announced this week that the Government of Canada has opened the Ukrainian market for beef from cattle under 30 months (UTM) and ready-to-eat meat. This new market access marks follows the lifting of Ukraine’s ban on Canadian beef products in 2014. Canadian beef and ready-to-eat... Read More
The federal agriculture minister joined the chairs of Genome Canada and the Western Grains Research Foundation in Saskatoon on Tuesday to announce a total of $93 million in funding for 11 agriculture and aquaculture genomics research projects. $30.8 million is coming from the federal government through Genome Canada, with $5 million from WGRF. The balance... Read More
Update on July 30th: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency removed the final Avian Influenza Control Zone (located in the counties of Oxford and Waterloo) after lifting the quarantine on the second Ontario farm on Wednesday, July 29th. Permits are no longer required for the movement of birds and bird products in Ontario. A three month... Read More
There’s been plenty of buzz about the potential uses for unmanned aerial vehicles on farms over the last few years, but many producers are still waiting to see if there’s a business case for purchasing one. They want to see if UAVs can add enough value to justify spending not only the money, but also... Read More
There’s potential for much more composting in North American farming, say researchers at the University of Manitoba. “Turning waste into gold” was the theme for the annual field day at the U of M’s Glenlea Research Farm last week. Mario Tenuta, soil ecologist at the University of Manitoba, describes the value of farm-scale composting of... Read More