'Pocket pigs' pose problems Sunday, February 6, 2011 "Pocket pigs" got a big boost last year in Britain when celebrity guests, including soccer star David Beckham and his glamorous wife Victoria, went home from the Golden Globe movie awards with miniature pot-bellied pigs in their goodie bags. The pigs, which cost £3,000 to buy, were compliments of the owner of Patty's Royal Dandie Miniature Pet Pig. It was a good publicity stunt. By early December British authorities were warning of dangers involved in buying these pigs as pets for children. The pigs can carry and pass on the skin condition erysipeloid and the bacterium Streptococcus suis, which can lead to illness, including meningitis and deafness in humans. The micro pigs have been bred down to size, only 28 grams at birth. They still weigh as much as 29 kilograms and 35 centimetres in height when fully grown. They can live to be 18 years old. BP Manitoba producers sink under an increasing burden of regulation Worldwide hog production shrinks and Smithfield rocks
Ag in the House: Oct. 26 – 30 Thursday, November 5, 2026 On Oct. 26, Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald fielded a question from a fellow Liberal MP about how the federal government is supporting food security across Canada. Chi Nguyen, the Ontario MP for Spadina—Harbourfront, asked the minister to share how the government is going to invest... Read this article online
What is Struvite? Could it Help Farmers Stretch Phosphorus and Reduce Runoff Thursday, November 5, 2026 Canadian researchers are exploring whether a fertilizer recovered from wastewater could become part of a more sustainable approach to phosphorus management on farms. Research from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) indicates that struvite, when used alongside conventional... Read this article online
Helping commercialize Sask. agtech Wednesday, November 4, 2026 The Saskatchewan government launched a new program to connect agtech businesses with local farmers interested in testing new products in development. The Agtech Commercialization Readiness (ACRE) program through Innovation Saskatchewan will provide startups with up to $30,000 to pilot and... Read this article online
Kalon Armstrong joins Nofence as managing director for Canada Wednesday, November 4, 2026 Nofence has brought in an agtech professional with more than a decade of experience to lead its commercial launch in Canada. Kalon Armstrong, a co-founder of Enriched Ag, an Alberta-based data insight company focused on ranching and grazing management, is Nofence’s managing director for... Read this article online
NASA Uses Satellite Imagery to Assess Ukraine Harvests Wednesday, November 4, 2026 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 disrupted agricultural production and the country’s ability to monitor crop conditions. With winter wheat and rapeseed already planted before the conflict began, questions emerged about how much farmland farmers could access and... Read this article online