Some Ontario hog farmers are still facing marketing disruptions for market-weight hogs as Olymel in Quebec continues to work its way through a significant backlog. Chair of Ontario Pork, John de Bruyn, says that while the majority of Ontario's 5.8 million hogs are processed at one of two federally-inspected plants in the province, about 25,000... Read More
Category: Livestock
The Ontario Research Centres at Elora is set to begin construction on an $18 million hog research facility, with $3.6 million from Ontario Pork and $14.4 million from the Government of Ontario The new facility will build capacity and expertise at the centre to support research to drive innovation in the swine sector and contribute... Read More
When it comes to the beef industry and climate, mainstream headlines often paint the two as going in separate directions. The Canadian agriculture sector can feel attacked by policies and messaging, and as Fawn Jackson, director of policy and international affairs at the Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA), explains from Glasgow, Scotland at the 2021 United... Read More
Biology is a wonderful thing. Given enough time and the right ingredients, soil biological processes can do some pretty amazing things, including breakdown of herbicides, cycling and releasing nitrogen, and even disposing of pathogens. The key is time: biology and biological processes can replace plenty of crop inputs given enough time. Especially for our northern... Read More
As November approaches quickly, many are asking where cattle producers are at with fall run, and what the market is looking like this year. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange explains in our latest Beef Market Update that in order to understand where the market is with cows coming to town, we need to... Read More
Statistics Canada (StatsCan) has released its gross domestic product (GDP) by industry numbers for August 2021, and it is no surprise that a lack of precipitation caused a significant drop in the agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting sector. The category dropped 5.7 per cent, following a 5.5 per cent decrease in July. StatsCan says the... Read More
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its October 1 Cattle on Feed Report October 22. Cattle and calves on feed in feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head totalled 11.6 million head, down one per cent year-over-year. This is the second highest October 1 inventory since the series began in 1996.... Read More
Despite major concerns from farmers, the European Union's proposed Farm to Fork strategy received a show of support from members of the European Parliament last week. The policy, which the European Commission says is aimed at making the EU's food systems "fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly," would introduce significant restrictions to the amount of pesticides, fertilizers,... Read More
Drought by definition, we can likely agree on. But take it on a case by case scenario, and you quickly realize it can mean a million different things. Everyone has a different perspective of dry, and that perception can change depending what year of drought it is. On a grain and oilseed farm, there is... Read More
Widespread drought across the Prairies (and Northern Great Plains) has pushed many livestock producers to source resources for the upcoming winter from elsewhere. But as feed resources move across the country, both in Canada and the U.S., extension specialists warn that noxious weeds might be on the move too, and that livestock producers should be... Read More