It’s a refrain you can’t really ever tire of if you’re a cattle producer — cattle prices are up across the board, with no immediate end in sight. That’s not to say there isn’t downside risk in this bull market (pardon the pun), but supply, demand, export markets and more are all colliding to support these… Read More
Category: Pork
The Canadian hog market is definitely an example of an up and down cycle of financial losses, frustration, PED and financial wins. Some would say its comparable to a roller coaster full of pain and exuberance. I spoke with Kevin Grier, George Morris Center to discuss what is happening in the Canadian hog market and… Read More
You are probably reading a lot right now about the challenges with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Sheila Pratt with the Edmonton Journal has been focused on the issue as it applies to allegedly reducing labor costs and the mistreatment of workers. Keep in mind that that the temporary foreign worker program is accessed by… Read More
The Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) of Manitoba has confirmed a small number of animals being held at a high-traffic site have tested positive for porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus. The pigs were at a facility on the eastern side of the province; the infection is not being linked to a specific farm…. Read More
The Manitoba Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) has confirmed a small number of animals being held at a high-traffic site in western Manitoba tested positive for the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus. Based on the onset of symptoms and the CVO’s preliminary investigation, a provincial government release says, it is likely the pigs… Read More
The Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP), announced by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Western provincial ministers on January 24, 2014, is now taking applications. Cattle and hog producers may now use this new livestock price insurance product to help manage unexpected livestock price declines. This new insurance product offers protection against an unexpected drop… Read More
By Bernard Tobin Satellites and smart phones are poised to deliver a new level of biosecurity that could keep farmers one step ahead of disease. As Canadian pork producers struggle to contain the spread of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) on their farms, a new company, Be Seen Be Safe, is rolling out a satellite-based… Read More
Although porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) DNA was found in pig feed common to the majority of infected farms that had been found by early February in Ontario, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) cannot confirm the feed is the vector by which the disease entered these farms. The feed manufacturer in question, Grand Valley… Read More
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture hosted the 2014 Agriculture Trade Summit in Saskatoon in early February. It was there that I met Jennifer Higginson, deputy director of the trade negotiations division of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Higginson’s presentation dealt largely with the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), citing an eventual elimination of over 95%… Read More
The Chief Veterinary Office of Manitoba has confirmed and the Manitoba Pork Council has announced that Manitoba’s first case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, or PEDv, has been found on a wean to finish farm in the southeast corner of the province. The positive test was confirmed through the National Centre for Foreign Disease Control… 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
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. The… 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
When new farm animal diseases rear their heads, one of the first questions asked is how they were discovered. Overwhelmingly, the sleuth turns out to be a rural veterinarian, summoned by the farm’s concerned owner or operator. Although our society is becoming much more urbanized, rural veterinarians play a critical role. In Ontario, the Ontario… Read More
By Bernard Tobin, Ontario field editor This story was originally published on January 28, 2014. For continually updated information click here. Ontario’s second case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) has been confirmed at a Chatham-Kent region farm and a third farm is being investigated in the same area. (Editor’s note: The number now sits… Read More