Mother Nature rarely cooperates with everyone perfectly, and some areas seem to get more fair treatment than others. While Jocelyn Wasko, based in southwestern Saskatchewan, is always happy for some moisture, she says the drawn-out winter season happening now is making calving on her operation a bit tricky, to say the least. The problem is... Read More
Category: Livestock
The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) has released the updated Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle. Canada’s Codes of Practice provide guidance for the care and handling of farm animals, and are used as educational tools, reference materials for regulations, and the foundation for industry animal care assessment programs.... Read More
The federal budget announced earlier this week had a handful of agriculture-related commitments, including $333 million over 10 years for the establishment of the Dairy Innovation and Investment Fund. The fund, set to be administered by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, is for research and development of new products that use solids non-fat (SNF), market development... Read More
A probiotic developed at the University of Alberta (U of A) that supports milk cows before and after calving is heading towards being commercially available in Canada. Burim Ametaj, immunobiologist and professor in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences at the U of A, says this is the first of its kind to... Read More
In its brand new budget, the federal government has set out $43 billion in new spending over six years and a predicted $40 billion deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year (up from $30 billion projected last fall). There are several spending programs aimed at Canadians as a whole, including more money for children's dental health... Read More
The popularity of robot milkers continues to grow dramatically across Canada. Today, between 15 and 20 per cent of Canadian farms milk cows using robot technology. Ten years ago, that number hovered near five per cent. Western Canadian dairy farmers are the biggest adopters with between 25 and 50 per cent of farms in different... Read More
The Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers Limited (CCWG), headquartered at Carleton Place, Ont., is being led by an interim general manager after Eric Bjergso was suspended with pay, beginning March 15, 2023. In a letter sent late last week to share holders, CCWG advises that the executive committee, supported by the board, "initiated a temporary suspension-with-pay... Read More
Japan is reopening its doors to processed beef from Canada, removing the last restrictions it has had in place since 2003, after the discovery of a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Alberta. Japan is Canada’s third-largest market for agriculture and food exports. "Under the new Indo-Pacific Strategy, the federal government committed to seizing... Read More
Often when talking about the cattle markets, we talk about carcass weight, but sometimes without even completely realizing what it means or what the average weight can tell us. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says at the end of the day, we're all selling beef tonnage — pounds of beef is what consumers... Read More
Premier Doug Ford's government released its latest budget for Ontario, with a major focus on health care and housing. Tucked in the budget, however, are a few items directly or indirectly applicable to agriculture in the province, including a focus on improving veterinary access in under-serviced areas, support for trades, and a manufacturing credit. In... Read More