Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan was launched in 2015 to foster conversations with people in Saskatchewan about food and farming. We recently had a chance to catch up with Clint Monchuk, Executive Director with Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan (FFCS). Farm and Food Care had its origins in the Food and Animal Council (FAC). When… Read more »
Category: Livestock
Perdue targets new Canadian dairy class during meeting at the MacAulay farm in PEI
Sonny and Mary Perdue from Savannah, Georgia, visited their Canadian friends Lawrence and Frances MacAulay at their farm in Midgell, Prince Edward Island, on Friday. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Perdue’s visit with Agriculture Minister MacAulay in PEI was, as expected, a friendly affair, especially in the context of the recent narrative between President Trump and Prime… Read more »
Saputo planning to build $240 million dairy processing plant in Port-Coquitlam, BC
Quebec-based dairy processor Saputo has quietly announced a plan to build a $240 million dairy processing facility in Port-Coquitlam, British Columbia. Construction of the “state-of-the-art facility to be commissioned in fiscal 2021” was mentioned in the company’s fiscal 2018 annual report published last week. (Saputo’s 2018 fiscal year ended March 31, 2018.) The company says… Read more »
Olymel announces deal to buy Pinty’s Delicious Foods
Quebec-based pork and poultry processor Olymel has announced a deal to acquire all the shares in Pinty’s Delicious Foods, a poultry processing company in Ontario that specializes in chicken wings, boneless wings, fillets and fully cooked food products. Pinty’s operates three processing facilities, in Port Colborne, Paris, and Oakville, with headquarters in Burlington. The company… Read more »
Saskatchewan farmers looking for management strategy for wild pigs
At one time, there was a thought that wild pigs could be part of a livestock diversification strategy for Saskatchewan farmers and ranchers. After several farmers gave it a try in the early 90s, fences were cut loose and a new pest problem began within the province. There is still debate over the severity of… Read more »
Get ready to access antibiotics: Establishing a vet-client-patient relationship
Beginning later this year, livestock owners across Canada will have to jump through one extra hoop before accessing certain antibiotic veterinary products. The move is part of a broader strategy to manage antibiotic resistance in human health, and it’s not without controversy. Starting in December, farmers will need an existing vet-client patient relationship (VCPR) to… Read more »
Canada made dairy offer, but it wasn’t enough: U.S. ag secretary
The Canadian government has offered to allow more dairy imports under its supply management system as part of NAFTA negotiations, but the U.S. administration felt the concessions that were offered weren’t enough, according to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. “They made an offer most recently that they felt like was a very fair offer. I… Read more »
Coca-Cola to build fairlife milk processing facility at Peterborough
The news Coca-Cola and fairlife, LLC, have announced they will introduce fairlife Ultrafiltered Milk to Canada by the end of 2018. The introduction of the higher-protein, lower-sugar, lactose-free dairy beverage will also spur development of a new $85 million production facility at Peterborough, ON. This is the first market introduction outside of the U.S. for… Read more »
Ear tag sensor-based feed program field tested on Canadian dairy
Production efficiency is said to be one of the biggest limiting factors in dairy production. So to that end, for the past six months, animal nutrition and health company Alltech has been researching and developing a new production efficiency program called Smart Dairy. It combines nutrigenomics (the study of how nutrition affects gene expression) and… Read more »
Recent rains fail to ease moisture concerns of Prairie pastures
Ranchers in Western Canada have faced some real challenges this spring. For some early calvers the late winter posed some serious problems for mortality, and now the hot, dry conditions are posing major grass concerns. There has been talk of cattle already being pulled off southern pastures to be moved up north. From a marketing,… Read more »
Beef Market Update – Strong beef demand, lower carcass weights, and the wall
It has been a busy week in the cattle markets, as Canada and the United States are on the brink of a trade war that we would not have imagined a year ago. Much of that is out of the control of feedyard owners and ranchers, but the impacts will most certainly be felt, depending… Read more »
Saputo announces $660,000 to support 4-H dairy programs
Youth involved in 4-H dairy programs have an extra reason to celebrate World Milk Day today. Saputo has announced a partnership with 4-H Canada that will see the dairy processor invest $660,000 over the next three years. The partnership will support members in 4-H dairy cow and goat programs with “grants, awards, and opportunities to… Read more »
Concerns ripple across North American agriculture as tariff battle begins
The Canadian government was quick to announce $16.6 billion in retaliatory tariffs after U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross confirmed that Canada, Mexico, and the EU will lose their exemptions to 25 percent and 10 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, as of June 1. The escalation comes as NAFTA negotiations appear to have stalled. Prime… Read more »
Dairy Distillery turns waste skim milk into tasty spirit
What started as a fascination with craft distilling and a chance discussion about dumping skim milk has evolved into a tasty new business at Almonte, Ontario. Neal McCarten is director of operations for Dairy Distillery, and it was his family’s farm background that led to a discussion with Omid McDonald, founder and CEO, about how… Read more »
Gene editing allows for polled dairy genetics without the production drag
Semex, a Canadian-based, farmer-owned cattle genetics company, and Recombinetics, a gene-editing company, have formed an alliance to bring hornless dairy cattle genetics forward through the use of TALENs technology. TALENs involves very precise gene editing that makes small adjustments to the genome of an animal to delete, repair, or replace individual elements of DNA. Because dairy cattle breeds… Read more »