By Patricia Grotenhuis

Passionate about telling the public about her family’s 200 year old egg farm in Eastern Ontario, Stephanie Campbell has undertaken a number of projects to achieve her goal.

Campbell’s agricultural awareness efforts have spanned her local area, the campus of the University of Guelph, and various events across Ontario.  They have even led to the creation of YouTube videos to share her message with a broader audience.  In 2013, Stephanie will be featured as the face of November in the Faces of Farming Calendar published by Farm & Food Care Ontario. Her appearance in the calendar is sponsored collectively by the Farmers Feed Cities campaign and by Burnbrae Farms.

“I enjoy showing my urban friends the farming life. We try to hold open houses and barn tours at least once a year,” says Campbell.

During her time at Guelph while she completed her Crop Science degree, Campbell was secretary of the Poultry Club.  Within two years the club increased to 60 members from 30, and had members both with and without agriculture backgrounds.The poultry club’s main objective was to get students interested and involved in the poultry industry.  They toured farms, worked on a video in partnership with the Poultry Industry Council, and worked with the Turkey Farmers of Ontario on website projects.

---

Posted by Farm and Food Care on October 31st, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Agriculture Education,eggs,Laying hens
Tags :: animal care, eggs, laying hens

---

By Jean L Clavelle

There has been much discussion lately on social media sites regarding marketing and how perceptions can be easily manipulated.  One such topic is that of antibiotic free meat (AFM) where animals produced for food are never treated with antibiotics.  It involves consumer health, animal health, medical drug prescriptions, animal management and more – all highly charged emotional topics.

Much of this discussion revolves around the concern for human health and that antibiotic use in livestock may result in a public health risk due to increased antimicrobial resistance in humans.   The implication being that AFM is a healthier option for humans.  The scientific component is a complicated one and has been debated at length in scientific journals and trade publications not to mention social media.  I won’t discuss it here as its more than one blog can adequately cover in a sitting.

One element that is often overlooked is that of animal welfare and the moral issue of raising AFM although I have seen it used as a marketing (dare I say) gimmick by many retail and food services organizations.  Antibiotics are products used by both humans and animals to prevent and treat disease illness and suffering.  We had previously discussed the definition of animal welfare (http://www.letstalkfarmanimals.ca/2013/07/25/do-you-know-what-animal-welfare-really-means/) and an important element of welfare is freedom from pain injury or disease by rapid diagnosis and treatment.  If we examine the exact nature of an AFM production system would it be considered inhumane?  Under this system animals cannot be treated for illness or disease if they are to be sold into this market.  Which is fine.  Until an animal falls ill.  And it will happen just as you or I might succumb to an illness despite our best efforts which can only be treated with antibiotics.  Good animal welfare and animal management dictates that sick animals be treated or if that’s not possible euthanized.  Just like we would want ourselves and our loved ones to receive treatment.

---

Posted by FACS on October 28th, 2013 :: Filed under Animal care,Animal cruelty,Animal health,Animal welfare,antibiotics,Beef cattle,Canada,Social media,Uncategorized
Tags :: animal care, animal welfare, beef, Canada, cattle, Consumers

---

Guest blog by Dr. Mike Petrik, Ontario poultry veterinarian

(reprinted with permission from http://mikethechickenvet.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/response-to-activist-video/#comments)

This blog post is one I was hoping not to have to write. In Canada, there was recently an “investigative report” on the commercial egg industry. It developed after an animal activist group took undercover footage and passed an edited video to a television newsmagazine. The resulting 30 minute show was a black eye to the professional farmers, and has caused a stir in the public. I am disappointed in the response from the industry groups to address this attack, so I am writing this blog post in hopes of doing my part. This commentary does not represent any organization, and is entirely my own opinion.

First, let me point out some of the issues that are at play in animal activist videos in general.

1) Modern farms are large. This is daunting to most non-agricultural people. Looking at a barn with 10,000 chickens is as alien to you as me looking at an auto assembly plant, or a brewery, or a company that makes computer components. The shock of seeing the alien environment is leveraged by insinuating that it is impossible to care for large groups of hens. The fact is, there are basically as many laying hens in Canada as there are people. The farms are large because so many people live in cities and towns and don’t have time or interest in raising their own food. 30 Million chickens have to live somewhere in Canada if we want to continue to eat eggs the way we do now. Interestingly, the average flock size in Canada is smaller than anywhere else in the developed world….in the US, farms are between 50 and 100 times as large.

2) Activist videos are not what they seem. No, I’m not saying they fake them (although that has happened in some cases). What you need to realize is that the activist takes video for 4-5 months, then edits the video into the worst possible 15 minutes possible. The mandate of animal activists is to stop the use of animals…..all animals. They aren’t interested in showing the truth….if false representation helps them stop a process they see as immoral, that is very acceptable to them. Think about what this means. Imagine someone secretly taping you interacting with your kids or coworkers for months, and then trying to make you look bad. Imagine going through 4 months of footage of baseball games, and clipping out batters getting hit, hard slides, collisions at the plate, then make a 15 minute video of how baseball should be stopped because it is too violent. If the people watching were from the interior of China where people are unfamiliar with baseball, what would their opinion of the sport be?

---

Posted by Farm and Food Care on October 23rd, 2013 :: Filed under Activism,Agriculture Education,Animal care,Animal cruelty,Animal welfare,eggs,Laying hens
Tags :: activists, animal care, animal rights, Canada, eggs

---

A panel of farm animal care specialists has examined undercover video footage from an egg farm in Alberta and says that the scenes clearly show unethical and irresponsible treatment of animals. The panel also felt it was difficult to reach conclusions based on the video footage as presented.

The Center for Food Integrity (CFI) created the Animal Care Review Panel to engage recognized animal care specialists to examine hidden amera video investigations and provide expert perspectives for food retailers, the egg industry and the media. The panel was asked to examine video contained in a report on the television news magazine W5 as well as a 3-minute video segment posted on the Mercy for Animals Canada website.

The panel was comprised of Dr. Candace Croney, Purdue University; Dr. Ed Pajor, University of Calgary; and Dr. Stewart Ritchie, a British Columbia veterinarian and poultry consultant.

In the video, hens are seen being tossed and handled roughly by workers, dead birds lie in cages and on floors in various levels of decay and chicks appear to be trapped in cages or farm equipment.

“What was shown in the video is inappropriate and unacceptable,” said Croney. “Handling birds that roughly reflects a lack of cognizance that these are live, sentient animals that can feel pain. What I saw shows a real need for additional training of farm employees at the very minimum.”

---

Posted by Farm and Food Care on October 22nd, 2013 :: Filed under Activism,Animal care,Animal cruelty,eggs,Housing,Laying hens
Tags :: activists, animal care, animal rights, animal welfare, eggs

---

Guest column by Larry Davis, Board Member, Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA)

Slow-moving farm equipment on roadways can present significant challenges for both motorists and farmers, particularly at this time of year. As Ontario farmers rush to bring in the harvest in good weather conditions, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) encourages farmers to review road safety practices.

While farm equipment is permitted on roadways at all times of year, it is a more common sight during the busy harvest season. Motorists who are unaccustomed to encountering farm equipment on the road are often unprepared to safely follow slow-moving tractors towing large, specialized pieces of equipment such as combines and grain wagons.

The OFA reminds farmers there are specific rules farm equipment operators are required to follow to keep our roads safe. For example, drivers must be at least 16 years of age and all farm equipment drivers should practice a “no riders policy.” Farm vehicles must yield half the roadway to oncoming traffic, they must be properly lit, and operators must signal turns. Farm vehicles should be driven on the travelled portion of the road, because road shoulders may not support the weight of farm equipment.  And remember tractors and farm equipment still follow the rules of the road, and that means no cell phones while driving.

It’s always good practice to keep your lights on when travelling roadways – especially around dawn and dusk. And every tractor, combine or towed implement must display a slow moving vehicle sign to warn motorists that the vehicle will not reach highway speeds. But with proper signage comes some hefty rules: equipment displaying a slow moving vehicle sign is limited to a maximum speed limit of 40 kilometres per hour. Equipment often requires operators to travel at lower speeds because wide turns and heavy loads make it difficult to stop quickly or turn easily on roadways.

Let’s put farm safety first this harvest season. The OFA encourages everyone – farmers and motorists – to consider road safety practices when farm equipment travels on roadways. On behalf of the OFA, we wish farmers a safe and profitable harvest season.

www.ofa.on.ca

---

Posted by Farm and Food Care on October 21st, 2013 :: Filed under Farm life,Farm Machinery,Farm Safety
Tags :: farm equipment, Farm life, Farmers

---

by Lisa McLean

More than 400,000 Ontarians visit their local food bank each month, and 160,000 of them are children. But protein – essential to muscles, organs and the immune system – is in short supply at Ontario food banks, particularly during the critical summer months when school programs that address hunger are not operating.

In June 2013, a new pilot program supported by Ontario Pork saw a donation of 10,000- 500g packs of ground pork made directly to Ontario food banks in Southwestern Ontario including Sarnia, London and Hamilton.

The Ontario Pork Program was made possible by a $10,000 donation from Ontario Pork, and matching donations from industry partners.  “More people use food banks than I ever thought,” says Stephen Thomas, who helped to spearhead the program. “Hunger is not just a third world problem anymore. It’s a first world problem too.”

---

Posted by Farm and Food Care on October 17th, 2013 :: Filed under Uncategorized

---

by Jean L Clavelle

Here in the west, most people feel cheated by this year’s short summer.  Snow arrived early last fall and then stuck around far longer than we all felt it should have this spring.  However, whether we like it or not , winter is fast approaching!  For the average Joe this means blowing out the sprinklers, finding those extension cords, and winterizing your house.  Not only do producers need to do all of those things, they also need to worry about getting their animals ready for winter too.

There are a few key items on producers’ checklist each fall to ensure they optimize herd health and reproduction in the winter.

---

Posted by FACS on October 15th, 2013 :: Filed under Animal care,Animal health,Beef cattle,Farm life,Uncategorized,Weather,winter
Tags :: agriculture, animal care, beef, cattle, weather, winter

---

By Jean Clavelle

Well, it’s that time of year.  Cattle are coming home from pasture, calves are being weaned and sent to feedlot and horse enthusiasts are enjoying the last few pleasant riding days left of the season.  No one plans to have one, but accidents do happen especially when animals are involved.  And whether you are the one involved in a motor vehicle accident or an innocent bystander it’s important to know what to do and how you can help when livestock are on the loose.

The top 5 things you need to know about livestock in an emergency:

1. Livestock do not understand lights and sirens mean pullover.  This will definitely not make them stop.
2. When an animal feels cornered, it will fight or try to run.
3. Livestock view us as predators and their natural instinct is to flee from predators.
4. Prey animals are herd animals and become extremely agitated when isolated or separated from other animals.  Single animals are extremely dangerous animals.
5. Once livestock are excited or scared it will take at least 20 to 30 minutes to calm them back down.
   Read All »

---

Posted by Farm and Food Care on October 4th, 2013 :: Filed under animal handling,Animal welfare,Beef cattle,Broiler Breeders,Chickens,Horses,Misconceptions,Pigs,Poultry,Sheep,Transportation,Turkeys,Uncategorized,Veterinarians,Weather
Tags :: agriculture, animal care, animal welfare, cattle, pigs, Poultry, Transportation

---

By Patricia Grotenhuis

Brighton - Former junior hockey player Justin Dorland has learned that, as an eighth generation farmer, working with the land and animals runs too deep in his blood for him to leave it. Following high school, Dorland took a year off to play junior hockey and study computers.  He then shifted to studying agronomy at university which began his journey back to the family dairy farm.

This year, Dorland is featured in the month of October in the 2013 Faces of Farming Calendar published by Farm & Food Care Ontario. His page is sponsored by Grain Farmers of Ontario.

“Farming wasn’t always been path I thought I would choose after high school.  I tried a few other things, but in the end I returned,” says Justin. Following his 2005 graduation from the University of Guelph, Dorland decided to work off of the farm for three years at a local farm supply store as a dairy nutritionist. This experience has also helped well back on his family farm.

He believes the opportunity to work off of the farm between finishing school and returning to farm is important to help gain experience in different areas. The farm which Dorland returned to has a long history with his family.  It was established by his ancestors in 1827, and has been owned by his family ever since.  Dorland is the eighth generation of his family to work on the farm.

---

Posted by Farm and Food Care on October 1st, 2013 :: Filed under Faces of Farming,Farm life
Tags :: animal care, animals, crops, dairy cattle, Faces of Farming, Farm life, Farmers

---