A long ride is less stressful Wednesday, August 10, 2011 Shorter truck trips are more stressful to market hogs than longer truck rides, according to a study recently published in the Journal of Animal Science.The reason? Pigs need time to recover from the stress of loading before they get stressed again when they disembark, says Prof. Michael Ellis, at the University of Illinois's Urbana-Champaign campus.Another stress factor is floor space. Overcrowding is stressful, but pigs that have too much space are thrown around as the livestock truck moves. University researchers found that U.S. market pigs on average require five square feet each.Co-author of the study with Ellis was Bradley Wolter, chief operating officer of the Maschhoffs packing company in Carlyle, Ill. Wolter says working with Ellis allowed the company to reduce pig losses due to transportation and handling by more than one percentage point in a system that was already well managed and where less than half a per cent of pigs died because of movement and handling. BP Another sign of bacon's popularity: clogged drains 'Welfarists' pressure supermarkets
Potato Crusher Helps Farmers Fight Weeds Monday, August 31, 2026 Researchers from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) found a new use for a machine originally designed for potato production. The potato vine crusher, first created to destroy insect pests in potato vines, is now proving effective in reducing weed seeds during harvest. The idea was... Read this article online
Canadian Meat Council Warns of Food Safety Risks Monday, August 31, 2026 The Canadian Meat Council (CMC) has expressed concerns about proposed changes to Canada's food safety regulations that would allow certain provincially inspected meat products to be sold across provincial borders. While the organization supports efforts to reduce barriers to... Read this article online
Boosting Soybean Protein Through Better Nutrition Monday, August 31, 2026 Soybeans areone of the most important crops in the world.Soybeansprovide a major source of plant-based protein for both human consumption and animal feed. As global demand for food continues to grow, researchers are working to find ways to improve the nutritional value of soybean crops... Read this article online
Record El Nino Intensifies as U.S. Heat Wave and Drought Risks Grow Monday, August 31, 2026 As harvest season approaches across much of North America, producers are facing a rapidly evolving weather pattern highlighted by the strongest El Niño event on record. According to from meteorologist Eric Snodgrass, the east-based El Niño continues to strengthen, with Niño Region 3... Read this article online
Wheat Futures Surge as Black Sea Risks Fuel Grain Market Rally Monday, August 31, 2026 Grain markets finished the week of August 28, 2026, on a strong note as wheat futures led a broad rally across agricultural commodities. Traders monitored escalating risks around Black Sea exports, potential changes to U.S. crop estimates, weather concerns across the Midwest, and increased... Read this article online