Economics versus culture

Dermot Hayes, a respected livestock economist from Iowa State University, is admittedly flummoxed over the question of whether it will be grain producers or the livestock sector benefiting from the growing demand for protein in emerging economies. Hayes was in town last week delivering the annual Kraft Lecture, a memorial to the late University of

The economics of animal welfare

Back in the early 1990s, when University of Manitoba animal scientist Laurie Connor first oversaw local research into hoop-housing systems for hogs, animal welfare wasn’t really even on the public radar. The key questions of the day were whether keeping pigs outdoors through a Prairie winter compromised production efficiency. Connor told a seminar last week


Stall-free pork coming to McDonald’s menu

Amove by fast-food giant McDonald’s to have its U.S. pork suppliers phase out sow gestation stalls has drawn praise from animal rights groups, but questions remain about the impact it will have on Canadian producers. “This is huge. That a major corporation has made this move is really very significant,” said Winnipeg Humane Society CEO

Precision pork production — a vision of the future

Imagine a finishing barn where each pig receives exactly the right amount of nutrients each day to optimize its growth, maximize the efficiency of nutrient use and minimize the excretion of waste. A barn where sophisticated feeding equipment identifies each pig and delivers a precise dose of blended feed using complex mathematical models to predict


Letters — for Feb. 2, 2012

Are court cases really baseless Mr. Ritz? It was really quite funny to watch the minister of agriculture strut around in front of his flock at the recent Western Canadian Wheat Growers conference. He used his bully pulpit to call the recent court cases, against his government implementing legislation dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board’s

Third-largest U.S. hogproducer accused of abuse

The humane society has accused two of the largest American pork producers of abuse by confining sows in cages during pregnancy. In a video on the humane society website, sows can be seen chewing the metal bars of their gestation crates and struggling to stand up. Some are scratched, bleeding or even dead. “When it



Farm succession connections

Good farm succession planning and environmental stewardship may not seem joined at the hip, but Jeremy Funk of the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba is examining a possible connection. The fifth-year PhD student is in the process of surveying farmers about their succession plans in an effort to explore the relationship



Breakfast of champions

The bodies and minds of students at two area communities were nourished when the famous Made in Manitoba Breakfast program was featured, connecting students to where that food came from. The breakfast and agriculture education program is one of a number run by Agriculture in the Classroom-Manitoba Inc. (AITC-M), a non-profit organization supported by individuals