File photo of gray wolves howling in British Columbia. (Pac9012/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. lifts federal protections for gray wolf

Reuters — The Trump administration in the U.S. said Thursday said it will lift Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf, arguing the species had been brought back successfully from the brink of extinction. The move gives states in the continuous United States the authority to manage their local wolf populations, including by allowing


Area producers in many cases can finish their own cattle, but they’d have a hard time finding someone to process it, according to two local beef producers.

Legal on-farm slaughter a potential boon for producers

Scale-appropriate regulation may benefit remote communities, create an entry point to direct market meat

Legalizing on-farm slaughter of livestock would be more humane, benefit remote communities and beef up producers’ bottom line, say two Manitoba producers. Recent regulatory changes in Alberta are “exactly what we’re looking for,” said Ian Thorleifson, president of the Manitoba Elk Growers Association. On July 29, Alberta announced changes to slaughter regulations which included the creation of an on-farm slaughter operation licence. The licence

File photo of sheep grazing near a marijuana crop in Afghanistan’s Balkh province, north of Kabul, on Sept. 24, 2007. (Photo: Reuters/Ahmad Masood)

Blast kills at least 23 at Afghanistan livestock market

Area shelled in clashes between government forces, Taliban

Kabul | Reuters — At least 23 civilians were killed in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province and dozens were wounded when rockets hit a cattle market on Monday, Afghan government and Taliban officials said. The warring sides blamed each other for the attack on the open-air weekly cattle market in Sangin district, where hundreds of villagers


(Video screengrab from Agribition.com via YouTube)

COVID-19 knocks Agribition off 2020 calendar

Organizers look to 2021, plan 'new digital experiences' in meantime

Another of the Prairies’ major agricultural exhibitions has removed itself from the 2020 schedule. The 50th edition of Canadian Western Agribition, which was scheduled for Nov. 30 to Dec. 5 this year at Regina’s Evraz Place exhibition park, has been postponed to Nov. 22-27, 2021. Organizers of the not-for-profit event said Wednesday they made the

File photo of a small greenhouse operation in Quebec. (ManonAllard/E+/Getty Images)

New pilot program for agri-food labour welcomed

Meat processors, greenhouse and mushroom growers, livestock producers get first crack at program

Ottawa — Federal officials hope a new pilot program will help stabilize ongoing labour issues in certain sectors of the agri-food value chain, while also providing citizenship to some foreign workers. Critics, however, contend more support is needed. “This pilot will help to ensure that farmers and processors have the much-needed skills, experience and labour


(File photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Saskatchewan to adjust WLPIP premiums for producers

Province also opts in to fund AgriRecovery set-aside plan

The Saskatchewan government plans to temporarily subsidize livestock producers entering the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP) against its recent jump in program premium costs. The province on Thursday announced it will provide $5 million to “partially offset” WLPIP premiums, which it noted have risen “significantly” since the end of February this year on COVID-19-induced

(Ag.calgarystampede.com)

Calgary Stampede cancelled for 2020

Province's limits on gatherings cover all major summer events

Alberta’s confirmation that its restrictions on gatherings include all annual summer events has led organizers of the Calgary Stampede to cancel the event for the first time in 97 years. “As a community celebration, the cancellation of our annual event comes with our community and public health and safety front of mind,” Stampede president Dana


A man walks with his pet dog as he talks to a vendor who sells dog meat at a market during the local dog meat festival at Yulin in China’s Guangxi Autonomous Region on June 21, 2018. (File photo: Reuters/Tyrone Siu)

China reclassifies dogs as pets, not livestock

New guidelines drafted in post-virus regulatory push

Shanghai | Reuters — China has drawn up new guidelines to reclassify dogs as pets rather than livestock, the agriculture ministry said, part of a response to the coronavirus outbreak that the Humane Society called a potential “game changer” in animal welfare. Though dog meat remains a delicacy in many regions, the ministry of agriculture

Riding Mountain National Park in western Manitoba. (Mysticenergy/E+/Getty Images)

Manitoba eases load limits for grains, livestock, vegetables, fertilizer

'Essential' commodities allowed at normal axle weights on more roads

Springtime load limits on certain Manitoba highways will be lifted early this year for transport of crops, livestock, fertilizer and other “essential” goods. Provincial Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler announced Tuesday that certain essential goods may be trucked at “normal loading” axle weights on highways usually subject to Level 1 road restrictions during spring thaw. Essential