let's talk farm animals

Pigs in the city

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Ron and Sharon Douglas of Clifford are shown with their Ontario Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence.

Ron and Sharon Douglas of Clifford are shown with their Ontario Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence.

By Jeanine Moyer

One Ontario farm couple is so passionate about farming that several times each year they take their farm on the road. Ron and Sharon Douglas of Whispering Brook Yorkshires, Clifford, ON, spend nearly 100 days travelling to schools, fairs, festivals and exhibitions across Ontario each year, educating the urban public about agriculture.

And with them come their own pigs – in the comfort of the Pig Mobile  – a converted livestock trailer with the sides replaced with windows to allow people to see the pigs as they would live on the farm.

The Pig Mobile is as close as you can get to an Ontario hog farm without actually stepping foot in a barn. The animals are carefully chosen to represent hogs at various growth stages including a sow and baby piglets, weaner, grower and finishing hogs. Ron designed the unit himself, modeling the trailer as close to a real pig barn as possible. The unit is complete with ventilation, a farrowing unit, slatted floors and feeders similar to those found in any Ontario hog barn.

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on August 29th, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Agriculture Education,Animal care,Pigs,Pork,Speaking out
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New vehicle focuses on animal care

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by Kristen Kelderman

Animal care has always been an important part of a farmer’s everyday life. In the past, animal care has hid behind many titles. We have referred to it as animal husbandry, animal welfare, and stockmanship to name a few. But at the end of the day, it’s the same basic principle packaged in a slightly different box.  We, as farmers, strive to provide our farm animals with the best possible care including nutrition, housing, comfort, health and enrichment (often called the five freedoms).

I remember as a young girl when Dad would stay up all night and worry when a cow had went through a hard calving or had a bad case of milk fever. And I remember thinking to myself man; the vet is not doing a very good job at keeping our cows healthy. But it wasn’t until l was a bit older that I truly understood that animal care is a responsibility of everyone on the farm, my Dad, my Mom, our vet, our nutritionist, our service technician for our milkers, my siblings and myself. We all play an integral part, even though we might not think so. Farm Animal Care & Emergency Awareness vehicle

This was a light bulb moment for me as a young farm kid. Since then I look at animal care in a holistic manner where everyone involved in the industry has an interest in the care of farm animals. And the more I talk to people about this, the more it is becoming mainstream thinking.  And the conversations are only getting started.

At Farm & Food Care, we have just launched our new Farm Animal Care & Emergency Awareness vehicle. As part of our commitment to increasing awareness and information on farm animal care issues, we will be turning up the volume and getting people talking about animal care.

We will be out at farm industry events like the Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock with hands on interactive demos. See our non-penetrating captive bolt euthanasia resources, tour the outfitted van or get your questions answered.

Farm animal care seems to be the latest hot topic on the horizon and in the news. But in truth farmers and those in the industry are the people who live and breathe it every day, and it’s not a fad topic to them. No matter if you’re a pig farmer, a banker, a veterinarian or a milk truck driver, at the end of the day we are all in this together. Responsible animal care is something that we all strive for.

 

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on August 26th, 2013 :: Filed under Animal care,animal handling,Animal welfare
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Reducing weaning stress, as simple as Two Steps!

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Quiet Wean PicNot often do science and research result in real world applications with just a few studies.  Often, practical adaptations are made after years of study at multiple centers involving many scientists and dozens or hundreds of publications that have each built on the tiny steps of the one before it.

Often that is the case, but not always.  Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan were investigating behaviour of beef cows and stumbled across something quite extraordinary that resulted in a new understanding of how to wean calves.  After just a few projects, these researchers were able to offer a method of weaning that dramatically reduces stress for both the cow and calf, and results in healthier bigger calves for the producer.  Better still the idea has taken off across North America!

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on August 22nd, 2013 :: Filed under Animal care,animal handling,Animal health,Animal welfare,Beef cattle,Innovation and technology,Research,Uncategorized
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You have to shower before going into a barn?

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It may be hard to believe but farmers might ask you to take a shower or wear overalls and plastic boots over your shoes before entering.

In her blog post on the www.dinnerstartshere.ca website, pig farmer Kendra Leslie explains why:

When you walk into a hospital, the first thing you do is wipe your hands down with hand sanitizer, right? Well, essentially, that’s biosecurity.

The reason you use hand sanitizer when you go into a hospital, is so you don’t bring in new bugs into the hospital. As pig farmers, we take the same sort of steps to insure that our pigs stay healthy and no new bugs or illnesses are brought into the barn.

A shower in a Canadian pig barn

A shower in a Canadian pig barn

Most pig farms require that you shower in before entering the barn. By removing all outside clothing, showering and putting on clothes that do not leave the barn, means that the chance that new bugs or diseases will enter the barn is low. It’s very important that anyone entering the barn shower and change into barn clothes, whether they have been around pigs before or not.

To view the whole blog visit

www.dinnerstartshere.ca/blog/entry/you-have-to-shower-before-going-into-the-barn

 

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on August 19th, 2013 :: Filed under Animal care,Biosecurity,Housing,Pigs,Uncategorized
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Hot enough for ya?

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In this blog post, Eastern Ontario egg farmer Stephanie Campbell talks about the challenges of keeping farm animals cool and comfortable during the heat of summer months. Watch www.dinnerstartshere.ca for more blogs from some young Ontario farmers.

By Stephanie Campbell

Is it hot enough for ya? I’m sure you’ve heard this saying many times this summer, but did you ever think that it could apply to farm animals as well? For most farmers, when the weather is very hot, it not only means that is can be uncomfortable for them to work in (especially if they have hay to do), but they also have the task of making sure their animals stay cool as well. This is why most barns have very good ventilation systems.

Fans on the side of an egg barn

Fans on the side of an egg barn

In my barn, we have an air exchange system with big fans and vents that turn on and off automatically based on the temperature of the barn. This ensures that the temperature remains as steady as possible to ensure the hens stay happy and comfortable. The air is fully exchanged every seven minutes. Even with this air exchange, on very hot days (i.e. days over 35 degrees Celsius), sometimes the barn can get a little warm. For this reason we have extra big fans (think wind machines in old movies) to keep the air fresh and moving through the barn.Read the rest of her blog here at http://www.dinnerstartshere.ca/blog/entry/hot-enough-for-ya

 

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on August 16th, 2013 :: Filed under Barns,eggs,Housing,Uncategorized
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Be a real champion

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Reprinted with permission

By Trent Loos

With county fair season upon us I thought the message here should be shared with all. For the purposes of this particular piece I am going to reference showing pigs only, but it certainly applies to all animal species. I think in a real serious manner we need to address the oldest principle in animal ownership, which I believe should still be called “animal husbandry.”

You may not realize this but before people received “animal science” degrees they could earn a degree in animal husbandry. This name change, to me, was the beginning of our losing the battle in the arena of public perception regarding this industry. But here we are now and it is up to those of us that own pigs to shape the public’s notion of proper animal welfare….

To view the rest of the blog, click here http://www.hpj.com/archives/2013/jul13/jul29/0724LoosTalessr.cfm

 

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on August 12th, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Agriculture Education,animal handling,Education and public awareness,Pigs
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Cattle - unintelligent meat or really smart animals?

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by Jean Clavelle

Someone recently sent me this YouTube link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCQkYcgxpXw) - both interesting and hilarious.  Why would cattle be inclined to chase a remote control toy and then alternately be herded by it?  Let’s face it, animal behaviour is fascinating.

When I decided to go to grad school and began investigating options I discovered the world of Ethology which is the study of animal behaviour.   I was hooked - the what, where, when, why, and how of animal management!  Some people think cattle are unintelligent and the less generous might say stupid.  However when we look more closely at why cattle behave as they do we find there’s a complex physiological, anatomical and physical system at play that has evolved and adapted those behaviours for survival that humans are just beginning to understand.Beef Cattle

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Posted by FACS on August 9th, 2013 :: Filed under Agriculture Education,Animal care,animal handling,Dairy cattle,Research,Uncategorized
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Meet the faces of August in the Faces of Farming calendar

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By Patricia Grotenhuis

With a wide range of hobbies and interests, Gerald and Fred Van Osch may not fit into any typical farmer mold.

The two brothers, raised on their family’s beef and cash crop farm, near Mount Carmel, Ontario have expanded the farm their father started.

Although the two didn’t always know exactly what their future in the farm had in store for them, they both knew that they were meant to farm, and began farming as soon as they were finished high school to help their parent Paula and (the late) Harry Van Osch. Their love for agriculture runs through their children, too. Each has one son working full time and one son working part time with them.

“We have very strong family bonds, and we get a deep satisfaction from seeing the next generation take over. We are a hard working team that works well together,” says Gerald.

Gerald and Fred Van Osch

Gerald and Fred Van Osch

The shared commitment the brothers have to farming and caring for both their cattle and their land have earned them a place in as the month of August in the 2013 Faces of Farming calendar published by Farm & Food Care Ontario.

Their participation in the calendar was supported by Monsanto Canada.

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on August 1st, 2013 :: Filed under Beef cattle,Corn,Crops,Faces of Farming,Farm life
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