Celine Dion and Bob Marley help Rwandan pigs digest Monday, December 6, 2010 According to Canwest News and Reuters News Service, Edmund Ndizeye, a farm pig herdsman in Urwibutso, Rwanda, plays hip-hop, reggae, rhythm and blues, and even a bit of Canadian Shania Twain's country music to his pigs. He claims rearing pigs with music doubles their yields in terms of offspring, quality of the meat and their weight.They get a diet of soft tunes from Celine Dion and Bob Marley to help them digest after eating restaurant and juice plant leftovers, and aggressive dance tracks later to make the boars more virile.The Urwibutso farm is a wealth re-distribution project in a hungry African country. Farm director Gerard Sina gives away 150 piglets to local families every month. The farm gets back a first-born and the original mother is passed on to another family. The foster family keeps the rest.Half of Rwanda's population of 10 million has trouble meeting its food needs and half of its children are chronically under-nourished. The government has trebled agricultural spending as a percentage of gross domestic product since 2007, and ag sector growth is more than six per cent annually. The government's goal is to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. BP Pig rearing is tops for profit in India Behind the Lines - December 2010
Alberta Pork Launches First-of-Its-Kind Retail Contest Thursday, March 5, 2026 Alberta Pork is putting Canadian pork in the spotlight this spring with a new retail promotion designed to encourage shoppers to choose Verified Canadian Pork (VCP) at the grocery store. Running from February 23 to March 30, the is the first initiative of its kind in Canada, offering... Read this article online
Students Learn Farming History During Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month Thursday, March 5, 2026 Agriculture in the Classroom Saskatchewan (AITC-SK), together with national and provincial partners, is celebrating the 15th annual Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM) throughout March. The program helps students learn more about agriculture and the people who work in the... Read this article online
Field crop report indicates more canola acres Thursday, March 5, 2026 Increased canola acres are part of Stats Canada’s first look at the 2026 planting season. In its March 5 principal field crops report, Statistics Canada is projecting 21.8 million canola acres, up from 21.6 million in 2025. “Higher anticipated seeded area may be led by strong domestic... Read this article online
Groups call for mandatory labeling of genetically engineered pork products Wednesday, March 4, 2026 A coalition of five organizations representing agriculture, food, and biotechnology, want products derived from genetically engineered pigs to be labeled as such. A Feb. 24 letter to Health Minister Marjorie Michel that included Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald as a recipient says... Read this article online
China reduces tariffs on Canadian canola seed Tuesday, March 3, 2026 China is furthering reducing its tariffs on Canadian canola. On Feb. 28, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced its final ruling on anti-dumping levies for Canadian canola seed and lowered the related tariffs from 75.8 per cent to 5.9 per cent. Paired with China’s standard 9 per cent... Read this article online