let's talk farm animals

Pick on someone your own size!

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It’s an interesting and generally unknown fact:  When sows (female pigs) farrow (or give birth), they can have litters of piglets totalling 20 or more. But most sows only have 14 teats – which means they can only nurse up to 14 piglets comfortably.

Piglets feeding from their mother sow.

Piglets feeding from their mother sow.

What do pig farmers do to ensure that all of the newborn piglets receive an equal amount of milk? Find out by reading the latest Dinner Starts Here blog written by Kendra Leslie. You can find it here:http://www.dinnerstartshere.ca/blog/entry/pick-on-someone-your-own-size

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on June 28th, 2013 :: Filed under Animal care,Pigs,Pork
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Let’s Talk Farm Animals – indeed!

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They came. They ate. They met cows and calves, pigs, hens and chicks. They checked out tractors and milk trucks, met farmers, veterinarians and nutritionists and, throughout the day, learned a little bit more about farming in Canada.

Last Saturday, 2,000 visitors dropped by Heritage Hill Farms, near New Dundee, in Waterloo Region, Ontario for Ontario’s first Breakfast on the Farm (BOTF). It’s an initiative copied from colleagues at Michigan State University Extension who hosted the first BOTF event in 2009. Since then, more than 40,500 children and adults have attended Breakfast on the Farm events throughout Michigan to learn about where their food comes from.

The host farm family is shown with Ministers John Milloy, Elizabeth Sandals and Premier Kathleen Wynne. The farmers include, from left, James Johnston; Mary Anne, Nadine and Joe Doré; Claire, Frances, Amanda and Graham Johnston.

The host farm family is shown with Ministers John Milloy, Elizabeth Sandals and Premier Kathleen Wynne. The farmers include, from left, James Johnston; Mary Anne, Nadine and Joe Doré; Claire, Frances, Amanda and Graham Johnston.

Ontario’s first event, organized by Farm & Food Care Ontario, and presented in partnership with Egg Farmers of Ontario and Foodland Ontario, was an overwhelming success. Also attended by the Premier of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, and several of her Queen’s Park colleagues, the day offered visitors the chance to see what happens on a working dairy farm.  The Johnston and Doré family, whose ancestors have been farming in Ontario for seven generations, provided complete access to their farm with visitors wandering through their barns, milking parlour, milk house and more.

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on June 26th, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Agriculture Education,Breakfast on the Farm,Consumers,Dairy cattle,Education and public awareness,eggs,farm tours,Pigs
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Breakfast on the Farm this Saturday, June 22

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This coming weekend, on Saturday June 22, Farm & Food Care will host Ontario’s inaugural Breakfast on the Farm program. An estimated 1,700 complimentary tickets have already been reserved for the Taste-of-Ontario breakfast and dairy farm tour that will be held on the dairy farm of the Johnston and Doré families near New Dundee, in Waterloo Region.

Ontario’s event is based on the successful initiative of Michigan State University Extension which has hosted 25 such events since its first in 2009. Each event, held in a different part of the state, attracts thousands of urban visitors. We’re very appreciative of the advice and assistance we’ve received from the Michigan committee.BOTF colour

We’re also grateful to the program’s founding partners: Foodland Ontario and Egg Farmers of Ontario, and the more than 25 other commodity groups and agri businesses that are providing support.

The day will include the chance to eat a wonderful Ontario breakfast, meet cows and calves, chickens and pigs as well as check out farm equipment like tractors, feed and milk trucks and more. There’ll be lots of special exhibits and a few surprise guests.

Want a sneak peek of the farm on the tour? Watch this YouTube video to meet Graham Johnston, one of the farmers on this fifth generation family farm. In this video, he’ll explain how cows are milked on this farm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAWVXG-e2pI

There are still a few free tickets available for this event. You can reserve one by visiting http://www.farmfoodcare.org/about-us/breakfast-on-the-farm

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on June 20th, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Agriculture Education,Dairy cattle,Education and public awareness,eggs,Farm life,farm tours
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Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

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People have long wondered which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Jacob Pelissero is an Ontario egg and pullet farmer. Pullet is the term used to describe a young hen from the time she is a few days of age to 19 weeks of age when she’s old enough to start laying eggs.
eggs2
In this blog, he attempts to answer that question. (Spoiler alert - he thinks it is the chicken.)

You can see his post here - www.dinnerstartshere.ca/blog/entry/which-came-first

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on June 17th, 2013 :: Filed under Chickens,eggs,Poultry,Pullets,Uncategorized
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Canadian experts convinced GMO swine feed study is deeply flawed

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By Farm & Food Care

Canadian animal health specialists are among the experts around the world denouncing a recent study suggesting animals are harmed by eating GM crops.

The study - published in the little-known Journal of Organic Systems (sponsored by the Organic Federation of Australia) claims researchers found severe stomach inflammation in pigs that were on a diet of genetically modified (GM) grains. But Canadian animal health experts say the study has many flaws.

Dr. Robert Friendship is a professor in the Department of Population Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, and a swine health management specialist. He has reviewed the research report and concluded that it was incorrect for the researchers to conclude that one group had more stomach inflammation than the other group because the researchers did not examine stomach inflammation.

“The researchers did a visual scoring of the colour of the lining of the stomach of pigs at the abattoir and misinterpreted redness to indicate evidence of inflammation. It does not,” Friendship said. “There is no relationship between the colour of the stomach in the dead, bled-out pig at a slaughter plant and inflammation.”

Friendship suggests the researchers would have had to take a tissue sample and prepare histological slides and examine these samples for evidence of inflammatory response such as white blood cell infiltration and other changes to determine if there was inflammation. Including a veterinary pathologist on the research team would have prevented this mistake from happening, Friendship says.

Environment writer Mark Lynas researched and wrote a blog post [http://www.marklynas.org/2013/06/gmo-pigs-study-more-junk-science/#more-1227] also questioning the study’s validity.  Among his findings, the lead researcher, Judy Carman, is a long-time anti-biotech campaigner. One co-author, Lynas notes, is the president and co-founder of a company that markets non-GMO grain. “Despite this, the paper declares that the authors have no conflicts of interest,” Lynas says.

Lynas continues: “…Carman and colleagues claim significant differences in a long-term study of pigs fed GMO and non-GMO diets. But if you look at the data they present…there are obvious problems. Clearly all the animals were in very poor health – weaner mortality is reported as 13% and 14% in GM-fed and non-GM fed groups, which they claim is “within expected rates for US commercial piggeries,” a vague statement intended to justify what seem to have been inadequate husbandry standards.”

Another finding that the researchers held out as proof that the GMO fed pigs were different was that the uterus weight was different between the two groups. Dr Friendship noted that the authors did not appear unbiased in their discussion.   “The research had a number of factors that could not be controlled for,” Friendship says. “It is disappointing that the authors of the paper did not admit the weaknesses of the study design and caution readers that there may be many reasons for a difference in uterine weight. Unfortunately instead of presenting a fair discussion they made a wild speculation about the weight difference such as the heavier weight might indicate  cancer.”

Hundreds of studies have shown that GMO foods are just as safe as conventional, as summarized in this recent statement form the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS):

“The science is quite clear: crop improvement by the modern molecular techniques of biotechnology is safe. The World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the British Royal Society, and every other respected organization that has examined the evidence has come to the same conclusion: consuming foods containing ingredients derived from GM crops is no riskier than consuming the same foods containing ingredients from crop plants modified by conventional plant improvement techniques.”

 

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on June 13th, 2013 :: Filed under Activism,Agriculture Education,Biotechnology,Misconceptions,Pigs,Research
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Canadian experts convinced GMO swine feed study is deeply flawed

By Farm & Food Care

Canadian animal health specialists are among the experts around the world denouncing a recent study suggesting animals are harmed by eating GM crops.

The study - published in the little-known Journal of Organic Systems (sponsored by the Organic Federation of Australia) claims researchers found severe stomach inflammation in pigs that were on a diet of genetically modified (GM) grains. But Canadian animal health experts say the study has many flaws.

Dr. Robert Friendship is a professor in the Department of Population Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, and a swine health management specialist. He has reviewed the research report and concluded that it was incorrect for the researchers to conclude that one group had more stomach inflammation than the other group because the researchers did not examine stomach inflammation.

“The researchers did a visual scoring of the colour of the lining of the stomach of pigs at the abattoir and misinterpreted redness to indicate evidence of inflammation. It does not,” Friendship said. “There is no relationship between the colour of the stomach in the dead, bled-out pig at a slaughter plant and inflammation.”

Friendship suggests the researchers would have had to take a tissue sample and prepare histological slides and examine these samples for evidence of inflammatory response such as white blood cell infiltration and other changes to determine if there was inflammation. Including a veterinary pathologist on the research team would have prevented this mistake from happening, Friendship says.

Environment writer Mark Lynas researched and wrote a blog post [http://www.marklynas.org/2013/06/gmo-pigs-study-more-junk-science/#more-1227] also questioning the study’s validity.  Among his findings, the lead researcher, Judy Carman, is a long-time anti-biotech campaigner. One co-author, Lynas notes, is the president and co-founder of a company that markets non-GMO grain. “Despite this, the paper declares that the authors have no conflicts of interest,” Lynas says.

Lynas continues: “…Carman and colleagues claim significant differences in a long-term study of pigs fed GMO and non-GMO diets. But if you look at the data they present…there are obvious problems. Clearly all the animals were in very poor health – weaner mortality is reported as 13% and 14% in GM-fed and non-GM fed groups, which they claim is “within expected rates for US commercial piggeries,” a vague statement intended to justify what seem to have been inadequate husbandry standards.”

Another finding that the researchers held out as proof that the GMO fed pigs were different was that the uterus weight was different between the two groups. Dr Friendship noted that the authors did not appear unbiased in their discussion.   “The research had a number of factors that could not be controlled for,” Friendship says. “It is disappointing that the authors of the paper did not admit the weaknesses of the study design and caution readers that there may be many reasons for a difference in uterine weight. Unfortunately instead of presenting a fair discussion they made a wild speculation about the weight difference such as the heavier weight might indicate  cancer.”

Hundreds of studies have shown that GMO foods are just as safe as conventional, as summarized in this recent statement form the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS):

“The science is quite clear: crop improvement by the modern molecular techniques of biotechnology is safe. The World Health Organization, the American Medical Association, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the British Royal Society, and every other respected organization that has examined the evidence has come to the same conclusion: consuming foods containing ingredients derived from GM crops is no riskier than consuming the same foods containing ingredients from crop plants modified by conventional plant improvement techniques.”

 

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on June 13th, 2013 :: Filed under Activism,Agriculture Education,Biotechnology,Misconceptions,Pigs,Research
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Innovative dairy goat farmers win prestigious awards

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By Lilian Schaer

evin and Cindy Hope, with daughter Mackenzie, received their County of Peterborough Recognition award for agricultural leadership on May 24 in Norwood, Ontario.

Kevin and Cindy Hope, with daughter Mackenzie, received their County of Peterborough Recognition award for agricultural leadership on May 24 in Norwood, Ontario.

(Keene) Cindy and Kevin Hope always knew they wanted to create their own branded line of dairy goat products and goat meat right on their farm some day. What they didn’t know was that their efforts to build sustainability into their farming business would net them two prestigious awards.Cross Wind Farm was the recipient of a 2013 County of Peterborough Recognition Award as well as a Premier’s Award of Excellence for Agri-food Innovation Excellence in 2012. Cindy is delighted with this kind of recognition for the work her family is doing on their farm and in Ontario’s growing goat industry.

“To win an award of this magnitude means the world to us. It means the small producer does matter and is making a difference in our local food chain,” she explains. “The work that farmers put in in a day hardly gets noticed so this recognition is a great pat on the back for us.”

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on June 12th, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Farm life,Goat,Sustainability,Uncategorized
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Meet the face of June in the Faces of Farming calendar

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By Patricia Grotenhuis

Dancing in the barn, baking pies, catering and many great memories of farming alongside her husband Morley are just a sample of the stories Thelma Trask can tell.

This energetic mother of six and grandmother of 10 has been farming with her husband since their wedding 56 years ago, and before that, she taught school for two years.

For her long-time commitment to farming, Trask is featured as the month of June in the 2013 Faces of Farming calendar produced by Farm & Food Care Ontario.  Her page is sponsored by Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Ltd.

Thelma Trask and one of her famous pies

Thelma Trask and one of her famous pies

Trask and her husband, who met at a corn roast during her tenure as a young teacher, have shared many good times. “When we got married, Morley couldn’t dance.  So, I taught him how to dance, during chore time, between the rows of cows in the barn,” she recalls with a laugh.

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on June 10th, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Dairy cattle,Faces of Farming,Farm life,Future of Farming,Innovation and technology,Sustainability of the family farm
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