Farm labour organization hoping to carry on

Supporters of a non-profit organization that helps farmers deal with labour issues say they hope to carry on despite an impending loss of federal funding. The six-year-old Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council was told last summer that its funding will be terminated in March 2013. “The council has been working toward becoming a self-sustaining organization

Memories of disasters are all too soon forgotten

From Ripple Effect, a weekly newsletter from The Red River Basin Commission With the recent spate of wet years here in the Red River Basin, we’ve heard more than usual about risks of flooding. Statistical risks for flooding are based on the historical record of flooding and are typically expressed as statistical chances for certain


More on uncertainty and food safety investigations

Our summary last month of the largest foodborne illness outbreak of the last decade in the U.S. (salmonella in green peppers) and in Europe (E. coli in organic sprouts) demonstrated the diabolical complexity faced by food safety regulators when they carry out investigations characterized by deep factual and scientific uncertainty. In both cases, investigators were

Learn from every safety incident on the farm

Farming and ranching can be a dangerous occupation. That’s why it is so important to track and check each safety incident and learn from it — so that you can prevent it from happening again. The Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting program (CAIR) reports an average of 115 people are killed by farm-related incidents every year,


More Animal Health Improvements Needed, Report Says

Co-operator contributor / ottawa Canada has improved its animal health procedures, but changing risks posed by rising international trade and emerging threats point to the need for additional safeguards, says a new report. Animal health risk assessment in Canada is built on a solid foundation of knowledge and expertise, says the report of 12 experts

Planning To Do Some Renovations?

Spring is synonymous with home renovations and their associated horror stories, due to inexperienced or deceitful contractors and trades people, or those do-it-yourselfers who don’t know what they’re doing. Both situations can result in misery and extra cost. My family is currently undergoing a major renovation, both inside and out. We have an excellent contractor


Happiness Is … Losing The Phone

If you want to be happy, think positive and take a break from your mobile phone. That’s the advice from a new global movement for happiness whose members include the Dalai Lama. Action for Happiness, co-founded by Richard Layard, an economics professor at the London School of Economics and an expert on happiness, said surveys

Which One Can Deliver The Goods?

In the March 17 editorial, Business Risk Management, I learned that there is a technocrat named de Schutter in the United Nations heading up a division called Right for Food.


Canada FarmSafe Plan: A New Tool For Creating Safer Farms

Anew resource becomes available to Canadian farmers later this month to help develop agricultural health and safety plans custom fit for their own farm operations. The new Sécur i Fe rme Canada FarmSafe Plan is a business risk management tool for voluntary adoption by farmer-owners of all types and sizes of farms, say Canadian Agricultural

Farm Safety Expos To Provide Farmers With The Latest In Farm Safety

Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) in conjunction with Acklands-Grainger and major safety manufacturers will showcase the latest in farm safety at Farm Safety Expos to be held February 14 to 17 in rural Manitoba. In addition to general safety protection, the trade shows will feature special products and safety specialists in welding safety, respiratory safety, gas