As the US dairy industry struggles with low milk prices, a number of trends continue to drive a make over of the country’s dairy farm operations. Overall, the size of farm operations continues to grow rapidly, says Mark Stephenson, University of Wisconsin’s Director of Dairy Policy Analysis. Stephenson told farmers attending the Canadian Dairy XPO... Read More
Category: Livestock
Dairy farmers have given the thumbs up to the Canadian Dairy XPO’s move to an early April slot on the calendar. The Stratford-based dairy showcase, which for 2016 moved from it’s traditional February dates to April 6 and 7, attracted 14,900 visitors over two days, on par with 2015. CDX attendee surveys indicated that 74%... Read More
Dairy farmers are all too familiar with the external signs of mastitis – from swollen quarters to excessive heat and hardening of the udder wall. At the 2016 Canadian Dairy XPO, Alltech Canada’s Dr. Roger Scaletti performed a tissue analysis of an udder to give producers an inside look at where milk comes from and... Read More
Earls Kitchen + Bar made a "really big" announcement yesterday, when they tweeted their decision to shift to 100% 'Certified Humane' beef. The chain began as a startup in Edmonton, Alberta in 1982, and has since grown to include 66 locations, 59 of which are in Canada. According to the company's site, their traditions have... Read More
Not having to deal with bale twine or wrap would be a dream come true for almost anybody who's ever taken care of livestock. Three chemistry PhD students at Imperial College in London have invented a bale wrap that's not only edible, but could also be used to provide nutrient supplements to animals eating it.... Read More
Dairy farmers who make the switch to robot milkers are very predictable, says Brussels, Ontario farmer Joe Terpstra. When Terpstra and three other dairy producers took to the stage at the 2016 Canadian Dairy XPO to share their experiences with robot milking, all four seemed to be singing from the same songbook. Improved cow health,... Read More
Does a cow need to have a calf to give milk? The answer should be obvious, but more than 70% of consumers get the question wrong explains University of Guelph associate professor Mike Von Massow. A majority of Canadians also believe that a chicken is processed for meat when it reaches four years of age.... Read More
Lethbridge County unanimously passed its new infrastructure tax on Thursday. It will no doubt increase the tax load for livestock producers in the county. Kasko Cattle Co. is a family-owned operation that runs a pair of feedyards and also farms in the county, so I called Ryan Kasko to discuss the new tax and how... Read More
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
How much time should farmers invest in trying to explain modern agriculture to people unwilling to listen? Feedstuffs journalist and commentator Andy Vance believes agriculture stakeholders need to concentrate their communications efforts on consumers who freely choose food produced by modern agriculture and are either neutral or supportive of using efficiency-enhancing technologies to grow food.... Read More