Acase of avian influenza in a turkey flock north of Winnipeg has had a backlash effect on Manitoba’s chicken industry. Chicken exports have been cut in half as a result of import restrictions on Manitoba poultry because of the AI outbreak last November, Manitoba Chicken Producers reports. Manitoba grows roughly five per cent of its
Avian Flu Halves Manitoba Chicken Exports
Beef Export Federation teeters as merger vote ends in disarray
The Canada Beef Export Federation is on the verge of collapse after provincial cattle associations abruptly pulled out of a Feb. 17 meeting and took most of CBEF’s funding with them. The associations withdrew their memberships in protest after a special CBEF members’ meeting to vote on amalgamating Canada’s three national beef agencies broke up
Manitoba Second-Largest Recipient Of Hog Exit Money
Afederal program to help financially stressed hog farmers leave the industry saw 74 Manitoba producers receive $15.6 million to close their barns and sell their herds. The program reduced the number of pigs in Manitoba by 136,381, including 36,748 sows, 45,073 weanlings and 54,734 market hogs, according to the Canadian Pork Council. Manitoba was the
Hog Traceability Gets Second-Phase Funding
Canada’s national hog traceability system moved into a new phase last week, courtesy of $3.7 million in federal funding. The money will go toward developing a national centralized database to record the movement of pigs across Canada. It comes on top of a previous $3.3 million from Ottawa last May to create the first phase
Court Ruling Upholds Milk Board Authority
Arecent Nova Scotia court decision upholding the provincial milk board’s legal right to reduce the amount of producer-held quota is being hailed as a victory for supply management. Had the ruling gone the other way, it would have undermined the board’s ability to control milk production, one of the system’s essential pillars, said Brian Cameron,
Manitoba-Saskatchewan Flood Control Agreement Denounced
Farmers in the Assiniboine Valley say they feel sold down the river by a recent interprovincial flood control agreement. The pact between the Manitoba and Saskatchewan governments allows a controversial drainage project at Fishing Lake, Sask., to proceed with a controlled flow to avoid flooding on the upper Assiniboine River. But Manitoba producers who live
New Canola Variety Testing Trial Announced
Canada’s canola industry is launching a new variety testing program to replace one that was cancelled a year ago. Called a “new-generation” canola variety program, it contains some major changes from a previous one which collapsed because of seed company dissatisfaction with it. One difference is that growers will now partially fund the program. Previously,
Pilot Projects Set For Interprovincial Meat Trade
Aseries of test projects allowing provincial abattoirs to sell meat to other provinces could soon go into effect. Nineteen pilot projects to permit interprovincial trading of meat products will soon be launched across Canada, federal and provincial agriculture ministers said last week. The move comes seven months after ministers at their last meeting promised to
Zebra Mussels Headed Toward Manitoba
They’re tiny, they’re destructive and they’re headed this way. Zebra mussels have been found in the upper U.S. watershed of the Red River and could arrive in Manitoba as early as this summer, Manitoba Water Stewardship warns. Their presence could produce an “ecological Armageddon” along the Red River and its connecting waterways, Candace Parks, a
Hytek Rebrands Itself As HyLife
Manitoba’s second-largest hogprocessing plant is about to get a whole lot bigger. A major expansion planned for Springhill Farms in Neepawa will increase its slaughter capacity 5,500 hogs a day, or 1.4 million hogs a year. The expansion is scheduled to take effect April 2012. Springhill currently slaughters 3,650 hogs daily. The plant will also
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