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
Trump Floats Tariffs on Canadian Fertilizer After Announcing Billions in Aid for U.S. Farmers Tuesday, December 9, 2025 Just hours after announcing a multi-billion-dollar aid package to support U.S. farmers struggling with rising costs, President Donald Trump hinted at imposing new tariffs on agricultural products—including Canadian fertilizer. The move underscores the growing uncertainty surrounding trade... Read this article online
CFIA extends BIOPOWER SC claims to young ruminants Tuesday, December 9, 2025 Lallemand Animal Nutrition has announced that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has extended its approved claims for BIOPOWER SC, a viable yeast product (Saccharomyces cerevisiae CNCM I-1077) classified as a gut modifier in Canada. The new approval adds calves, kid goats, and lambs for... Read this article online
Philippines bans pork imports from Spain, Taiwan over swine fever outbreaks Monday, December 8, 2025 The Philippines has temporarily banned imports of pigs and pork products from Spain and Taiwan following outbreaks of African swine fever in both locations, Manila's agriculture ministry has announced. The import freeze, announced separately on Sunday for Spain and Monday for Taiwan,... Read this article online
U. of Saskatchewan Research Confirms Bacterial Cause of Porcine Ear Necrosis Monday, December 8, 2025 New research from the University of Saskatchewan has identified the primary bacterial agent responsible for porcine ear-tip necrosis, a painful and costly condition affecting pigs in every major pork-producing region. Ear-tip necrosis, first described in the 1950s, causes the ear tissue... Read this article online
FCC report highlights productivity as key to Canada’s agricultural future Monday, December 8, 2025 Canadian farmers could see significant income gains and new opportunities if agricultural productivity growth returns to historic highs. The Farm Credit Canada (FCC) report titled Reigniting agricultural productivity in Canada, estimates that boosting productivity growth to two per cent... Read this article online