Livestock Producers To Receive Free On-Farm Veterinary Visits

When’s the last time you had a veterinarian onfarm to discuss your production practices? Manitoba veterinarians are pleased to participate in new federal-provincial programs that offer the province’s livestock producers on-farm herd assessments paid for by the Growing Forward Food Safety Program for Farms. These programs, developed in conjunction with livestock producer groups and Manitoba

India Politics Delay GM Vegetable Start

“It is my duty to adopt a cautious, precautionary, principle-based approach.” – JAIRAM RAMESH India has postponed the launch of its first genetically modified (GM) vegetable, saying it would adopt a cautious approach and wait for more scientific studies on the impact of the new variety of eggplant. “The moratorium will be in place until


World Meat Demand Growing

REGION PER CAPITA MEAT CONSUMPTION (KG/PERSON/YEAR) East and South Asia and the Pacific Latin America and the Caribbean North America and Europe Sub-Saharan Africa * Following is a table with projections of meat consumption in different regions: Central and West Asia and North Africa 2050 33 51 77 89 22 2020 20 28 58 83

Cargill Beef Plants Install Video Gear For Audits

Cargill’s beef slaughter plants in Alberta and Ontario are among 10 company facilities in North America that have installed video equipment to monitor animal welfare practices. And while the U. S. agri-food giant’s two Canadian beef plants have yet to start using the equipment, the company has also already launched a pilot program in two


U. S. Ethanol Policy Frustrates Environmentalists

U. S. corn growers expressed relief when the Obama administration unveiled new environmental rules that would boost use of corn-based biofuel, but green groups complained the guidelines may fill the air with nitrogen, a greenhouse gas viewed as more potent than carbon. The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled what amounted to a tweaking of the national

Cash On Hand Could Save The Farm

There will be more business opportunities in agriculture the next 10 years than there’s been in the last 30, according to agricultural economist David Kohl, the keynote speaker at the Manitoba Special Crops Symposium Feb. 10 in Winnipeg. But there will also be more ways to go broke, he cautioned. Farmers can protect themselves through



Eat Local To Sustain Farmers, Conference Told

Lori Stahlbrand is on a 96 per cent mission. It’s estimated only four per cent of the food Canadians consume is grown and sold through local farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture projects and the like. The rest comes from mainstream retailers, mostly supermarkets. As a result, there’s a huge potential market for the local food economy


DuPont Collaborates On Biotech Maize For Africa

DuPont said on Feb. 17 that its agricultural unit had formed an alliance in sub-Saharan Africa to collaborate on development of higher-yielding maize varieties that need less fertilizer. DuPont’s Pioneer Hi-Bred unit will contribute gene technology in work led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and funded with $19.5 million in grants

Fungi-Resistant GM Canola Passes Lab Tests

Atechnique used already against viral diseases has been put to lab-scale tests that show it can help canola plants fight off sclerotinia and other fungi. University of Alberta biochemist Nat Kav and his research team introduced an antibody gene into a plant to see if it would have any effect against sclerotinia stem rot. Canola