In photography, depth of field is a term used to describe the zone within a shot that appears acceptably sharp. It is one of the most powerful tools a photographer has to draw attention towards (or away from) a particular subject. It also happens to be the title I chose for a new series. "Depth... Read More
Category: Livestock
The role of genomics continues to expand in the beef industry, with the technology becoming increasingly cost effective. Besides determining parentage, genomics have the potential to assess feed efficiency, fertility and susceptibility to disease. To many producers, this may eventually mean genetic testing most animals, most years. To others, it may simply mean genome sequencing... Read More
When it comes to meat, poultry is continuing to see big demand across the country, largely because of our appetite for chicken. The Canadian Meat Council says that in 2010 the average Canadian ate almost 16 kilograms of poultry compared to 13 kg of beef and 12 kg of pork. Moving forward, poultry demand will... Read More
Could something as simple as a gate be driving down the average number of lactations per cow in your herd? Some would say, yes. Ontario field editor Bernard Tobin was on hand at this year’s Canadian Dairy Xpo at Stratford, Ont., and sat down to talk barn design, herd health and more with Joep Driessen,... Read More
Its the beginning of February which means it is time for the annual National Cattleman's Beef Association (NCBA) meeting. With the cash market higher and feed prices lower than a year ago, cattle producers are seeing some strong margins and reasons for putting increased cattle on feed. Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko discuss the meeting... Read More
First, an apology. Eagle-eyed RealAgriculture readers will note that this column was absent last week. After three days at FarmTech '14 there was more than enough to share, but no time to do it, so I'll work some of last week into this, if you don't mind. It's no secret I like trains. Furthermore, I... Read More
Anyone that has ever fed cattle has targeted a hole in the market to get a better price at some point. Sometimes the hole develops as predicted and sometimes the market adjusts and the hole is no more than a dent. In the first four weeks of January, cattle packers in the US found themselves... Read More
Taiwan and Canada have signed an arrangement to expand market access to include Canadian bone-in beef and other specified beef products from animals under 30 months of age (UTM), according to an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada press release. The arrangement will level the playing field for Canadian beef producers and generate export opportunities to the... Read More
As news of the sixth and seventh confirmed on-farm case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus was announced (as of February 5, 2014), the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association is urging farmers to make use of a special biosecurity intake for farmers impacted by the devastating disease.... Read More
Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) has now been confirmed on five pig farms in Ontario. Testing by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food has also confirmed presence of the virus at a trucking yard, an assembly yard and a processing plant. The federal government is now working to make more tools available to help... Read More