Count pastured chicken production as another frontier for automation and robotics in agriculture. With demand for pastured chicken rising rapidly, Manitoba farmer Daniel Badiou, through his startup Ukko Robotics, has started manufacturing automated mobile chicken coops. That’s right. They’re basically robots for raising chickens outside. “Every day it will move by itself, and it can all… Read more »
Category: Poultry
Manitoba Farm Building Code Changes To Make it Easier to Build New Barns
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 »
CFIA Proposes Changes to Animal Transport Rules
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 »
Camelina Approved for Laying Hen Feed in Canada
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has approved camelina meal as an Omega-9-boosting feed ingredient for laying hens. “This is another major step for camelina production in Canada,” said Jack Grushcow, founder and CEO of camelina developer Smart Earth Seeds, in a news release on Thursday. “This latest approval makes the crop production economics for camelina… Read more »
Wild turkeys are not scapegoats for avian disease in Ontario
A lot of angst is simmering in farm circles about the potential for disease to spread between wildlife and domestic livestock, such as poultry. The concerns are warranted, given how quickly disease can race through a herd and create huge losses. But new research from the University of Guelph into the health status of Ontario… Read more »
Burlington Pig Case Shows It’s Worth Planning to Encounter Activists
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 »
BioMulcher Automates Composting, Quickly Turns Mortalities into Soil Nutrients
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 »
Health Canada Proposing Changes to Antimicrobial Drug Rules for Livestock
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 »
New Code of Practice Released for Poultry Operations
A new Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Hatching Eggs, Breeders, Chickens and Turkeys was released today, replacing a 2003 version published by the Canadian Agri-Food Research Council. “The Code of Practice supports the sustainability of Canadian poultry industries and the success of farmers,” said Vernon Froese, poultry farmer and chair of the… Read more »
Dairy Farmers Rally to Have Import Concerns Addressed
Wearing blue t-shirts that read “Canadian milk matters,” dairy farmers from across Ontario and Quebec rallied on Parliament Hill on Thursday. The event was organized to show support for supply management and to bring attention to a basket of import-related concerns, explains Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) president Wally Smith, in the interview below. “We don’t… Read more »
Costco Shoves Chicken Farmers Aside by Starting Its Own Chicken Farm
Costco is about to embark on a very dedicated vertical integration strategy for its chicken business. As reported by Fortune.com earlier this week, Costco is set to build its own processing facility, and will build its own chicken farms for one third of its supply. With plans to produce and slaughter 1.7 million chickens per… Read more »
ALMA Dies on the Alberta Government’s Budget Killing Floor
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 »
Growing Phosphorus Disparity Is Not Sustainable
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 »
New Canola Seen as Substitute for Soybean Meal in Poultry and Swine Rations
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 »
Egg Farmers Announce Canada-Wide Move Away from Conventional Housing
Egg Farmers of Canada has rolled out a plan to transition the entire Canadian egg industry away from traditional caged housing. “In response to the best available scientific research and in light of changing consumer preferences, I’m pleased that the entire industry has agreed to an orderly transition plan that will further diversify our production practices,” said… Read more »