Farmers must take the lead on animal welfare – their livelihoods depend on it. We like this article, published recently in the Guelph Mercury newspaper, that discusses this fact and a recent national funding announcement designed to take animal welfare even further in Canada – OFAC
Farmers understand benefits of animal welfare
Guelph Mercury
Owen Roberts
May 10, 2010
Healthy animals are profitable animals. And for farmers, profitability is the bottom line. Farmers who treat their animals poorly can face veterinarian bills, and other costly problems – such as a turned-off, unsupportive public. But right now, for the most part, consumers are on farmers’ side. And farmers aim to keep it that way.
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Posted by OFAC on May 20th, 2010 :: Filed under
Animal care,
Animal health,
Canada,
Farm life,
Innovation and technology,
Media,
Research
There’s a lot to think about when moving to the country. Sometimes the reality is very different than the dream although most farmers work hard to get to know their non-farm neighbours and explain to them the processes that must happen for a farm to run smoothly. We like the way this writer from the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder explores this conundrum.
The realities of rural life
The Cornwall Standard-Freeholder
Wed Oct 28 2009
Page: 3
Section: News
Byline: ANGELA DORIE;
Column: Over The Farm Gate
Over the years, the balance of those dwelling and working in rural Ontario has changed… and not necessarily for the better. Presently less than 1 per cent of the rural population are actual farmers as defined by the “Farming and Food Production Protection Act” ( FFPPA) and many conflicts arise between them and the non-farmers.
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Posted by OFAC on December 24th, 2009 :: Filed under
Farm life,
Innovation and technology,
Regulations,
Uncategorized
Steve Buist, Hamilton Spectator, 2008.05.30
It’s 7 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 21, and it’s one of the coldest mornings of the winter so far. The snow crunches under foot, there’s just a hint of grey light along the eastern horizon and an icy mist rises off the nearby Grand River.
Two gleaming silver tanker trucks from the Wallenstein feed company have already started emptying their loads into the metal silos at Curtiss Littlejohn’s pig farm in the hamlet of Glen Morris.
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Posted by Admin on July 22nd, 2009 :: Filed under
Canada,
Family vs factory farming,
Farm life,
Innovation and technology,
PorkTags ::
agriculture,
antibiotics,
Biosecurity,
environment,
feed,
fuel,
hormones,
misconceptions,
nutrition,
Research,
technology
Source:Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, 19.dec.08
Calgary, AB — FoodLogiQ, the leading provider of On Demand food safety and traceability software, today announced that they have signed an agreement with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association to provide a value added traceability solution to its members.
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Posted by Admin on July 21st, 2009 :: Filed under
Beef cattle,
Consumers,
Food safety,
Innovation and technologyTags ::
beef,
Canada,
cattle,
food safety,
Traceability
By Mannix Porterfield, THE REGISTER-HERALD (BECKLEY, W.V.)
Aug 16/06
FAIRLEA, W.Va.— Go back in time, say a century or so, even before the iron horse made its debut, and fetch a poultry farmer, pluck him off his Currier and Ives setting, then escort him into a modern chicken barn.
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Posted by Admin on July 21st, 2009 :: Filed under
Innovation and technology,
PoultryTags ::
animal care,
education,
Farmers,
food,
Poultry
BY TOBI COHEN, OTTAWA SUN, 2003.06.22
Pulling up to Luc and Louise Secours’ Bainsville farm one would never guess it was home to as many as 6,000 piglets at any given time.
It’s located on a large chunk of property a kilometre or so east of their
family farm home which stands perched atop a small hill next door to their chicken coop along Concession 2 in tiny South Glengarry town.
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Posted by Admin on July 21st, 2009 :: Filed under
Animal health,
Consumers,
Family vs factory farming,
Housing,
Innovation and technology,
Pork,
RegulationsTags ::
activists,
agriculture,
Consumers,
environment,
Farmers,
misconceptions,
Ontario,
pigs,
Pork
By JOE SCHWARCZ, Montreal Gazette, 2003.04.26
I must admit I had never heard of a “boar limo.” Neither was I familiar with “Prosperm,” “pit additives” or the risks of “plug pulling.” But when you sit at a table with a bunch of pork producers, you learn quickly.
And when you find out that the lady sitting next to you can castrate a boar in 1.5 seconds, you pay attention to the conversation. You learn how hard these farmers work, how daily life centres on feed costs, pork futures, worries about bacteria, concerns about smells and insecurity about income.
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Posted by Admin on July 21st, 2009 :: Filed under
Farm life,
Innovation and technology,
PorkTags ::
artificial insemination,
Farmers,
pigs,
Pork,
reproduction,
science
By K. Scott Jones, Scott E. VanderWal and Dave J. Uttecht, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, SD; May 20, 2008
As livestock producers in South Dakota, we often consider ourselves “shielded” from the activist attacks on agriculture that happen in more populous areas. However, in recent years it’s becoming more and more apparent that Americans no longer have a thorough understanding of where their food comes from or how it’s produced.
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Posted by Admin on July 19th, 2009 :: Filed under
Animal health,
Consumers,
Education and public awareness,
Family vs factory farming,
Innovation and technologyTags ::
activists,
agriculture,
animal welfare,
Consumers,
education,
Farmers,
misconceptions
By: Jeremy Smith, Reuters, 30.jan.09
BRUSSELS — EU regulators will discuss again in a few months whether to allow meat and milk products from cloned animals into the food chain, despite local consumer opposition and inconclusive data, officials said on Friday.
Animal cloning has been around for years. Dolly the cloned sheep was born in 1996, for example. Now, scientists estimate the EU has 100 cattle clones and fewer pig clones alive. Race horses have also been cloned.
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Posted by Admin on July 19th, 2009 :: Filed under
Consumers,
Education and public awareness,
Food safety,
Innovation and technology,
RegulationsTags ::
agriculture,
animals,
cloning,
EU
By Sarah Trickett, Farmers Weekly (UK), 20/11/2008
It is hard to comprehend the fact that Canadian dairy farmers pay a quota cost of $30,000 (£16,470)/kg of butterfat a day. With an average butterfat at just over 1kg, you are looking at a bill of $45,000 (£24,706)/kg of butterfat a day.
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Posted by Admin on July 13th, 2009 :: Filed under
Canada,
Dairy cattle,
Family vs factory farming,
Housing,
Innovation and technology,
Regulations,
VealTags ::
animal welfare,
dairy cattle,
Traceability