Canada's chicken farmers plan to eliminate some antibiotic use by May 2014 Tuesday, December 10, 2013 by SUSAN MANN Chicken farmers will no longer be able to use antibiotics considered important in human medicine in a preventative way for their poultry starting in May. Chicken Farmers of Canada has implemented a policy to eliminate the preventative use of Category 1 antibiotics, a Health Canada classification that identifies the most important antibiotics used in human medicine, says Steve Leech, Chicken Farmers food safety, animal care and research program manager. The products include the Ceftiofur and Baytril family of antibiotics. Ceftiofur is used at hatcheries to prevent yolk sac infection, he says. There isn’t widespread use of this type of antibiotic by chicken farmers and hatcheries. “Anecdotally there has certainly been a reduction in use in the last year to two years” but Chicken Farmers doesn’t have actual statistics. Baytril use is “very, very low but it is still a Category 1 drug so we wanted to include it under the same policy,” he says. Antibiotics listed in Health Canada’s second and third classification categories are less important in human medicine, and those in Category 4 aren’t used for human medicines. The Chicken Farmers policy just covers Category 1 antibiotics and not Categories 2 to 4. Leech says the implementation date is May 15, 2014 and “it will be a mandatory requirement in” Chicken Farmers on-farm food safety program. The food safety program is mandatory in all 10 provinces, and more than 98 per cent of farmers are certified on it. All farms are audited annually as part of the food safety program. Statements on both hatchery invoices and flock sheets will be included “to indicate that there’s been no Category 1 drugs used in a preventative fashion,” he says. “The food safety program will be the vehicle by which we enforce this.” Instead of the antibiotics, chicken farmers, hatching egg producers and hatcheries can use management practices to mitigate the impact on first week mortality levels, he says. “That’s the impact we’re trying to mitigate through some of these management practices.” Leech says Chicken Farmers’ on-farm food safety program received full recognition from federal, provincial and territorial governments in March and that “speaks to the credibility of the program” and it shows the commitment the industry has to food safety. BF Farmer appeals Huron Perth dairy vote Consumer group advocates new approach to governing food product information
Tips for first year university students Friday, August 29, 2025 The final weekend of summer is here, and students across Ontario will be returning to class next week. That includes at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown Campus, where staff, faculty, and volunteers are preparing to welcome a new crop of first year students. “There’s definitely a... Read this article online
Sterling buckle marks 170 years at Spencerville Fair Friday, August 29, 2025 For its 170th anniversary, the Spencerville Fair is presenting a distinctive piece of Canadian silverwork that reflects nearly two centuries of agricultural tradition. The 170th Anniversary Spencerville Fair Sterling Silver Buckle was designed and handcrafted by Alex Dordevic of TRIBE, a... Read this article online
Corn and Soybean Crops Fall Short in 2025 Predicts Great Ontario Yield Tour Thursday, August 28, 2025 Ontario’s 2025 corn and soybean harvest is shaping up to be one of the most challenging in recent memory, as persistent drought and heat have pushed yields below the Agricorp 10-year average say experts and master scouts Moe Agostino and Henry Prinzen of the 2025 Great Ontario Yield Tour.... Read this article online
Global grain trade gets a shake-up: What it means for Canadian farmers Thursday, August 28, 2025 The global grain and oilseed trading industry is undergoing a major transformation—and Canadian farmers should take note. A recently published study in the September 2025 issue of discussed how the traditional dominance of a few multinational giants is giving way to a more competitive,... Read this article online
Ontario Farmers Share Yield Strategies Amid Drought Wednesday, August 27, 2025 The Great Ontario Yield Tour held an event at Petersen Custom Farming in Osgood, Ontario, on Thursday, August 21, 2025. The farmer panel during lunch was one of the highlights of the event. Farmers and industry experts gathered to discuss yield strategies and the realities of this season’s... Read this article online