The House of Commons agriculture committee held an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) outbreak in southeast Manitoba. There have been at least 20 confirmed on-farm cases since May 2. To put that number in perspective, Manitoba previously only had 10 PEDv-positive barns dating back to 2014 when the… Read More
As the smell of barbecue fills the air in many neighbourhoods, this is normally the time of year when cattle market highs are well behind us. But the market moved against that trend this week, as live and feeder cattle futures, as well as cash prices, climbed higher. In this week’s edition of the Beef… Read More
The recent court case of Anita Krajnc, informally called the “Pig Trial,” has come to a close, and the farming community leaves the courtroom with disappointment. Sort of. Rather than a one-sided legal rout for animal rights activism, the verdict delivered in this criminal mischief case actually supports Ontario farmers in a number of ways. Let’s… Read More
Despite the defence creating over-the-top, headline-grabbing statements in court and using arguments not based on science, Justice David Harris has acquitted activist Anita Krajnc on the charge of criminal mischief related to interfering with hogs while in transit. Justice Harris says activists can protest laws, but they have to do that “within the confines of the laws that… Read More
The world’s largest pork producer and processor has launched a new business unit dedicated to expanding the use of pigs in human medicine, including tissue regeneration and potentially organ development for transplants. Smithfield Foods announced the creation of its Smithfield Bioscience division last week. “Our commitment to innovation and sustainability stretches across all aspects of… Read More
Ontario Pork announced February 23, 2017, that it had confirmed the 100th Ontario case of PED (porcine epidemic diarrhea) virus. It is the first confirmed case this year. The virus was confirmed Wednesday, February 22, 2017, in a finisher barn in Haldimand-Norfolk county. No other details have been released at this time. Read more: Managing… Read More
Manitoba’s new government is planning to remove what it calls “impractical and costly” regulations to make it easier to build barns and farm buildings and bring the province’s farm building code in line with rules in other Western Canadian provinces. Speaking at Keystone Ag Producers’ annual meeting in Winnipeg last week, Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced… Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has proposed changes to the rules for the transportation of animals. Discussions about changes to the transport regulations, most of which have been in place since 1977, have been ongoing for a number of years. The draft amendments were finally published in Canada Gazette on December 3 (read the entire proposal here.) The… Read More
Manitoba-based pork processor and producer HyLife Foods has announced plans for a major expansion. The company says it’s investing up to $125 million in its main processing plant at Neepawa and new finishing barns to supply it. Work is expected to begin in 2017. The expansion comes as a result of growing demand for Canadian… Read More
Three years ago Nuhn Industries’ first Lagoon Crawler emerged from the company’s Sebringville, Ontario plant. Today, the amphibious vehicle designed for agitating lagoons can be found on farms across North America and also in Russia and China. Real Agriculture caught the Lagoon Crawler in action last week at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ontario…. Read More
It’s an unusual case. Then again, it was an unusual incident. Most involving attention-seeking animal rights activists are. If you haven’t been following the case of an animal rights activist in Ontario giving water to a pig destined for slaughter, you’ve missed out on something that should shock you back to a changing world, far… Read More
A prototype vaccine for Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDv), developed in less than a year, has the pork industry hopeful for a new best management practice to aid in the fight against the devastating disease. “This is great news for the swine industry both in Canada and globally, as PEDv continues to threaten unaffected regions and… Read More
As with other aspects of farming, automation is finding its way into the process of managing mortalities. Dutch Industries, based at Pilot Butte, Saskatchewan, has designed what looks like a big top-heavy green box that it calls the “BioMulcher.” The unit heats, grinds and mixes, composting up to 2,500 pounds of material per batch. “After… Read More
Proposed amendments to Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations were outlined in more detail this week, after a brief announcement by Health Canada on June 30, 2016. The potential changes look to “strengthen rules governing the importation, sale and use of antimicrobial drugs in livestock.” “Health Canada’s proposal to strengthen the rules around the use of these drugs in… Read More
Update: Another case of PEDv was confirmed in Manitoba on June 2nd, just a week after finding the disease for the first time since January of 2015 in a sow barn in the province. The June 2nd case is a finisher barn in the southeast part of the province. Manitoba’s chief veterinarian confirmed the province’s… Read More