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
You can measure the pork industry’s development in Ontario in some obvious ways, such as sales and the size of the herd across the province. But Prof. Bob Friendship at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, says another strong indicator of the sector’s vitality is the number of veterinary students who are choosing it… Read More
Team success hinges on all members adhering to a credo embedded deep in their psyche. You know some of them: There’s no “I” in team; one dream, one team; we are family, and so on. Pork producer Vincent Breton is a believer in that team mentality. He’s the third generation of a very successful pork… Read More
It’s backwards. Illogical. The federal government’s move to enforce an outdated rule that increases the risk of PED virus infecting Western Canadian pig farms doesn’t make sense. While hog operations across the U.S. and Eastern Canada have been devastated by PEDv over the last few years, Western Canadian hog farms have managed to stay mostly… Read More
Today the Alberta Government released its budget and there were some casualties for agriculture. In an effort to cut costs and internalize much of the agency work that has been spun out to third-party boards, the Alberta Livestock Meat Agency had its funding cut. Other boards, commissions and agencies that will be impacted are: Alberta Grains… Read More
The number of soil tests in Manitoba with phosphorus concentrations below the critical level for crop production grew by 7 percent between 2010 and 2015, according to the new North American Soil Test Summary published by the International Plant Nutrition Institute. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec, as well as 13 U.S. states, all saw more… Read More
A new canola trait launched by Dow AgroSciences this week has the potential to expand the market for canola meal and change rations used for hog and poultry production. After 15 years of research, Dow has developed canola that yields canola meal with significantly higher protein content — a product more comparable to soybean meal than traditional canola… Read More
Finding good employees can be challenging for many Canadian farmers. The task can be even more daunting for livestock farmers when you consider the fact that the job applicant could be an animal rights activist intending to gather video evidence of animal abuse that will be posted on the Internet or turned over to the… Read More
Canada’s international trade minister says Canada intends to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement in New Zealand on February 4, while emphasizing “signing does not equal ratifying” the TPP. Chrystia Freeland posted an open letter on her department’s website earlier today indicating “when the 11 other countries convene to sign the agreement next week, Canada will attend… Read More