Behind the Lines - October 2012 Tuesday, October 2, 2012 That term "perfect storm," a description of an event where rare circumstances combine to make a situation much worse, has been used to describe the pork industry far too many times in recent years. This year's perfect storm is a drought that is driving up feed prices drastically, stretching farmers to their financial limits, at the same time as pork producers are coming face to face with strengthening demands from activists to change how they manage their gestating sows.Better Pork writer Don Stoneman has revisited this issue, looking at the nuts and bolts of how a couple of producers have managed sows using relatively cheap conversions of conventional barns to incorporate low cost floor feeding of grouped dry sows. A great deal of science has gone into this. Our story outlines how some of that science has been put to work to convert smaller and medium-sized sow operations. There still remain questions as to whether floor feeding groups can be effective in larger barns, particularly farms where there is hired labour. This story starts on page 6."Perfect storms" affect European pork producers too. As we've reported over the years, here in Ontario hardship can be a driver of innovation. One Danish initiative is focused on exotic pork. And are their opportunities in "bacon from black Iberian swine" or "Hungarian curly-haired hog chops? Our European correspondent Norman Dunn has these stories on page 30.It's often been said that Europe provides a roadmap for animal welfare issues that are headed here. Tail docking is officially illegal for hogs in Europe. As Norman reports, most farmers simply ignore the law. Now there's a new study supporting the economics of this strategy. See details on page 25. BPROBERT IRWIN The pressure to move to loose housing builds across North America Swine exporters get less money
Oil Falls, Stocks Rise, and Weather Risks Shape Farm Markets Tuesday, April 21, 2026 On the weekly with experts Farms.com Risk Management Chief Commodity Strategist Moe Agostino and Commodity Strategist Abhinesh Gopal, for the week of April 13 to 17, 2026, both experts agreed that the markets moved significantly. The title of the podcast was “Crude Oil Futures Plunge 13%... Read this article online
2026 Alltech Agri-Food Outlook shares global feed production survey data Tuesday, April 21, 2026 Alltech, a global leader in the agriculture industry, has released its , a report that includes the results of the company’s annual global feed-production survey. Based on that data, global feed production in 2025 reached an estimated total of 1.44 billion metric tons (mt)—representing an... Read this article online
Operating farm equipment in Quebec Tuesday, April 21, 2026 Farms.com continues its exploration into the insurance and licensing requirements for farmers across Canada with this look into Quebec. Is a license mandatory to operate farm equipment in Quebec? If the equipment stays on private land, no license is required from the SAAQ, the Crown... Read this article online
Ag included in new Canada-U.S. economic committee Tuesday, April 21, 2026 Canadian agriculture will have a voice around the table of Prime Minister Carney’s Advisory Committee on Canada-U.S. Economic Relations. The 25-member committee “will serve as a forum for expertise and strategy on all aspects of the Canada-U.S. economic relationship” as this summer’s... Read this article online
Operating farm equipment in Nova Scotia Tuesday, April 21, 2026 Farms.com continues its tour across Canada diving into the insurance and licensing requirements for farm equipment. This article focuses on Nova Scotia. Is a license mandatory to operate farm equipment in Nova Scotia? If the tractor or other piece of machinery remains on private... Read this article online