Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Eastern Canada saw a slightly larger cattle herd in 2020 compared to 2019 but nationally there were fewer cattle and sheep and slightly more hogs. Statistics Canada released its livestock 2020 inventory March 1, showing a one per cent decline in the national cattle herd, totalling 11.2 million animals, and a two […] Read more
Tag Archives pigs
Eastern Canada cattle herd grows
National cattle herd size drops, part of a decline happening since 2005
Early control would ease ASF damage in U.S.
Officials predict costs of an outbreak could be reduced to $15 billion from $50 billion if it was controlled within two years
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – African swine fever could become endemic in the United States if it arrives in North America. Paul Sundberg of the Ames, Iowa-based Swine Health Information Centre said the virus is a looming threat that could cost the American pork industry $50 billion over 10 years. Why it matters: The American and Canadian […] Read more
Canada’s year-end cattle herd continues shrinking
Slaughter beat pre-pandemic pace in second half, StatsCan says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Year-over-year contraction continued for Canada’s cattle herd at the start of 2021, while newborn piglet counts kept Canada’s hog herd on the rise during the same period, according to Statistics Canada. StatsCan on Monday reported 11.2 million cattle on Canadian farms at Jan, 1, 2021 — down one per cent from the year-earlier date and […] Read more
Canada’s active PED case count dwindling
Affected Manitoba farms now all presumptive-negative
Reading Time: 2 minutes The number of active outbreaks of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) on hog farms in Canada has shrunk to a few in Eastern Canada, with affected sites elsewhere now believed negative for the disease. Manitoba Pork announced Wednesday that the last of the premises to report a PED outbreak in that province in 2020 has now […] Read more
Olymel shipping backlogged hogs to U.S.
Company-owned hogs to go south after COVID closes Red Deer plant
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Olymel said Friday it was shipping pigs to the United States to help clear a backlog of hogs after it had to temporarily close its Red Deer, Alta. slaughter plant because of a coronavirus outbreak. Olymel shut the plant on Wednesday and declared force majeure — unforeseeable circumstances that prevent contract […] Read more
Managing footrot needs a whole-flock effort
Isolation of infected animals is key to managing hoof health issues
Reading Time: 3 minutes Footrot continues to be a concern for sheep producers across the province. The virus’s ability to survive in warm and wet conditions, and on the hoof of previously infected sheep for many years, makes it a difficult disease to control. “Mud and manure (help) to cause abrasions to the skin to help the infection get […] Read more
Small pig farm survey part of ASF initiative
Learning more about small-lot producers could make it easier to communicate with them about African swine fever
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Whether pigs are kept as pets or for a personal pork supply, Canadians who keep a small number of pigs on their property are the target respondents for an online survey expected to be distributed in early 2021. Why it matters: There’s little good data on what motivates small-scale hog producers, and […] Read more
Olymel to close Red Deer hog plant against COVID-19
Hog deliveries suspended 'until further notice'
Reading Time: 2 minutes Meat packer Olymel plans to temporarily close its hog slaughter and pork processing plant at Red Deer, Alta., winding down that facility’s operations starting this week against a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak among workers. The plant, one of Canada’s largest by slaughter capacity at over 45,000 hogs per week, has notified its hog suppliers and […] Read more
Former F. Menard hog plant upgrading for second shift
Olymel announces $9 million in renovations
Reading Time: 2 minutes Pork and poultry packer Olymel plans to dial up its pork output with a new evening shift at a Quebec hog plant it now owns in the province’s Monteregie. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Sollio Co-operative Group, said Friday it will invest $9 million in renovations at its slaughter, cutting and deboning plant at […] Read more
Feed additive in development to reduce food safety risks
Plant-based vaccine could be less expensive to produce to control E. coli
Reading Time: 3 minutes Technology that can produce vaccines and antibodies in plant leaves is being put to work in the livestock industry in hopes of preventing the development of a pathogen that causes food-borne illness in people. PlantForm Corporation has launched a new research project with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and Western University in London to target […] Read more
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