The number of cattle on feed in Canada is continuing to grow, according to the May report from CanFax. Part of the reason numbers are climbing, senior analyst Brian Perillat explains, is more heifers are going into feedlots. "We always gauge that as an appetite for expansion and unfortunately it still looks like quite a... Read More
Category: Livestock
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
Last week, Eric Micheels, assistant professor in the Agricultural and Resource Economics department at the University of Saskatchewan, tweeted a link to his newly-minted dissertation, entitled Market Orientation in Production Agriculture: Measurement, Relationships and Implications. Now, normally, the word "dissertation" would do little to pique my interest, but Micheels has been vocal through the Earls... Read More
News of the growth and success of the Canadian Dairy XPO helped attract a number of international companies to the Stratford, Ontario industry showcase. CDX, which for 2016 moved from its traditional February dates to April 6 and 7, attracted 14,900 visitors over two days. Farmers visiting the new WeCover Cow Coliseum discovered a hub... Read More
Early last week, leaders from the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) met with Earls Restaurants to discuss sustainable sourcing. By mid-week, the company announced it had made a mistake. "I think it was unfortunate that it happened in the first place," Fawn Jackson, executive director of the CRSB, told Shaun Haney in an interview,... Read More
There's no doubt concerns around antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are growing. According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the States sees at least "2 million people become infected with bacteria resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die each year as a direct result of these infections." In response to these concerns, the federal... 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
Retailers are enjoying this part of the beef cycle. Producers? Not so much. Cattle futures put in some new lows last week, as Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock joins us for another Beef Market Update. With slaughter levels in the U.S. up around 10 percent for the last two weeks of April, there's been a... Read More
The media firestorm caused by Earls Kitchen + Bar's pursuit of the “Certified Humane” standard has quickly become a cautionary tale for both the farm and food industry. It’s a situation a coalition of Ontario farm organizations are hoping to avoid by working with the food and beverage sector to help clarify and streamline sustainability... Read More
Bruce Vandenberg knows all about the challenges and opportunities of milking goats. He got into the business in 1989 and over the past 25 years has built Mariposa Dairy Ltd., the second-largest processor of milk goat cheese in Canada. Speaking at the 2016 Canadian Dairy XPO, Vandenberg explained that his home farm now milks about... Read More