The new regulation’s intent is to allow innovation and flexibility for business while ensuring they follow safe food practices, government officials say
Garth Jarvis of Jarvis Meats in Gladstone knows business must follow food safety rules and regulations, but those who make the rules need to understand their impact on business, he says. “A small business has to be able to afford to do it. That’s probably the biggest issue,” said Jarvis, who does custom slaughter for […] Read more
DIY has done wonders in the metal shop. Why not try it in the fields, too?
What do you do if you can’t find or can’t afford a piece of farm equipment for a particular job on your farm? For many, the answer is DIY, short for do-it-yourself. Necessity is the mother of invention, and often inspiration, a welder, chop saw, and a trip to the scrap pile is enough to […] Read more
Cattle movements are restricted indefinitely
A dozen farms in the Riding Mountain Eradication Area (RMEA) have been put under open-ended quarantine by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency due to delays in testing for bovine tuberculosis. “Essentially, anybody who was scheduled to test and has not yet tested is now under quarantine,” said federally appointed TB co-ordinator Allan Preston. Preston said […] Read more
Staying clean means the difference between heaven or hell
For weanling producers in Manitoba, the devastation wrought by porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) elsewhere has a very silvery lining. As their counterparts south of the border and in Eastern Canada haul dead piglets out of their barns by the wheelbarrow, the industry here is getting $90-$100 per head for isoweans and up to $135 for […] Read more
A two-pronged strategy aims to reduce need for herd surveillance testing
More money, this time from the federal government, is being poured onto the three-decade-long fight to eradicate bovine tuberculosis from the Riding Mountain National Park area. TB co-ordinator Dr. Allan Preston, who has just been reappointed, said the pair of new initiatives announced last month are aimed at shifting the focus away from testing herds […] Read more
Betting on the ponies losing favour with youth
Lose some, win some. The withdrawal of two towns that formerly hosted weekend races on the provincial harness racing circuit has been offset by the addition of two new ones, with Morris and Selkirk signing on to host the Manitoba Great Western Harness Racing Circuit. Wawanesa will be taking a year off, and Deloraine has […] Read more
The fifth annual Seedy Saturday reflects growing interest in urban gardens
Brandon’s Central United Church on a Saturday morning is probably the last place you’d expect to find a bunch of seedy characters — yet, there they were. Organizer Blake Hamilton estimated that some 160 avid gardeners showed up to enjoy a free local-food breakfast, peruse the wide selection of heritage and heirloom seed varieties on […] Read more
The program based on Western Canada prices offers better protection than CME futures hedging
A new price insurance scheme for Manitoba livestock producers has officially been launched, but whether there will be a stampede through the gate remains to be seen. Applications for the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP), a new tool to manage risk and withstand market volatility, were unveiled last week by Food and Rural Development […] Read more
Fearing they are the target, not TB, some ranchers refuse to comply with premises ID
A handful of ranchers in the Riding Mountain Eradication Area are balking at a provincial bid to use premises identification and ear tags to help with surveillance for bovine tuberculosis — even if it results in less on-farm testing. Rossburn-area rancher Rodney Checkowski wonders if the actual intent is to drive him and some of […] Read more
Douglas Bull Test Station’s annual all-breed bull sale passes 50-year milestone
Where do you go when you want a bull, but no B.S.? For 50 years now, ranchers have been boosting their operations’ bullpower at the annual spring sale hosted by the Manitoba Bull Test Station at Douglas, Man. Owned and operated by the Manitoba Beef Cattle Performance Association Inc., it is one of the largest […] Read more
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