The threat of bovine tuberculosis from wild populations of animals in Manitoba’s Riding Mountain National Park area has weighed heavily on cattle producers in the region for some time. The region has seen a steady decline in cattle and ranchers in part due to this threat. As a plan of attack, Manitoba recently announced the… Read More
Category: Industry Issues
The Canadian Government has announced two initiatives “that will help to identify opportunities and address issues facing the next generation of farmers,” according to the press release. The announcement was made at the Ontario Young Farmers Forum in Toronto, November 19. today an investment for two initiatives . The Rural Ontario Institute (ROI) will receive… Read More
The hog industry in Western Canada has been knocked to its knees in recent months by high feed prices and negative margins. A large hog breeder, producer and feed company — Manitoba-based Puratone Corporation — is in the process of being bought by Maple Leaf Foods, the company’s largest hog buyer. Amidst the fall out… Read More
Last week I wrote about the demise of Prop 37, a California bill that called for, among other things, labeling of genetically modified ingredients in food products. It didn’t take long after I posted the story for someone to send me a Tweet containing a link to an online petition. The introduction for the petition… Read More
In September, Bernard Tobin, RealAgriculture.com’s Ontario correspondent, explained in this interview that the Slots-at-Racetrack program was ending and ending quickly. As of March 31, 2013, the slot machines would be pulled from Ontario racetracks, and the revenue generated by the slots (and shared with the province) would walk out the door with the machines. The… Read More
The Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture held its annual speaking event last weekend in conjunction with the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, at Toronto, Ont. RealAgriculture.com was there to film the promising speakers — an amazing mix of passionate, well-spoken and wise-beyond-their-years individuals. This year’s junior and senior winners respectively, Dasha Metropolitansky and Lydia Harrison, both… Read More
Yesterday’s re-election of Barack Obama was the big news story, but tucked in amongst all the election fan fair and references to Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” was news of several bills being passed or defeated. Of particular note to agriculture was Prop 37, a Californian bill that would require labeling of products that… Read More
The 2012 canola crop is not just smaller than expected, it’s also light on oil content. According to the Canadian Grain Commission, this year’s crop is averaging a mean oil content of 43.5% (on a 8.5% moisture basis, No. 1 grade). That’s down quite a bit from last year when it was 45.2%. The 10-year… Read More
An idea is only good if it works. I know that statement may fall under the category of “Duh”, but when it comes to putting theory into practice on your farm, it has to be tailor made for YOUR farm and how you run it. Someone can say, “you need to cut costs”, but only… Read More
We may live in the information age, but it seems it’s easier to spread misinformation than it is to share facts. Never does this seem so apparent than when we ask urbanites about where they think food comes from and what’s in it. Farmers Feed Cities recently released findings from a survey it had done… Read More
We are in a battle. It may not seem all that bad right now as our combines roll and livestock gets sold. Sure, we hear talk about hormones and GMOs and animal treatment and all of that other stuff. But people keep lining up at the grocery store and buying food. After all, they need… Read More
Quebec-based Olymel has officially made a bid for Big Sky Farms, the Saskatchewan-based hog producer that recently entered receivership. Olymel has made a bid of $65 million to purchase the company. If successful, it’s likely operations would not change significantly, as Olymel processed much of Big Sky’s production. While this is the only current bid,… Read More
Each year my agricultural communications students prepare university-level speeches to compete with others from across the country in the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture contest, held annually in early November at the Royal in Toronto. Sometimes they win, and sometimes they don’t, but at the very least they get an all-too-rare platform to stand up… Read More
The 2012 fall feeder run seems to be moving at a very slow pace. Last weeks Canfax Cattle on Feed report would definitely confirm that. All things considered, the slow feeder run may be a blessing in disguise as many of the cattle liners are busy shipping cattle south due to the XL Foods closure… Read More
In this second episode of the Real Leaders series, Kim McConnell asks Greg Stewart, Farm Credit Canada’s CEO, about farmers’ own perceptions of agriculture and how that impacts another generation of farmers. What’s more, Stewart shares his insight into what, as an industry, agriculture must teach the public and the future generation about farming and… Read More