U.K. charity rescues battery hens Sunday, December 4, 2011 The United Kingdom's first registered charity for laying hens, founded in 2005, has "helped tens of thousands of hens enjoy a second chance in life rather than go from cage to slaughter." A more specific number is 250,000 hens. According to its website, The British Hen Welfare Trust receives an average donation of £3-4 per "ex-bat," so do the math. Donations "fund our hen collections as well as our educational programme," says the charity, whose patrons include celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, actress Amanda Holder and the Duchess of Richmond, who has her own flock of rescued birds.While the website is careful to say that British farmers work within the highest animal welfare standards in the world, it extols readers to "tell your family, friends and work colleagues they too can help take a battery hen out of her cage simply by selecting products that use eggs from welfare-friendly sources." BF Debate over global warming causes heat Off-roading spreads weeds
A new front in the repair access debate Friday, March 6, 2026 Iowa lawmakers have pushed the right‑to‑repair conversation into new territory with House File 2529, a bill that focuses specifically on diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems—the single most common cause of emissions-related downtime on modern farm machinery. The bill would require... Read this article online
March 8 is International Women’s Day Friday, March 6, 2026 Across the United States and Canada, women are taking on increasingly visible roles in agriculture—managing farms, leading ag-tech startups, advancing research, and strengthening the rural economies that feed both nations. Their work reflects a shift in an industry once defined... Read this article online
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to Visit Toronto and Southwestern Ontario Tuesday, March 3, 2026 The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry will be in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario later this week as part of its ongoing study on the role of Canada’s agriculture and agri‑food sector in strengthening national food security. The fact‑finding mission is scheduled for... Read this article online
AgriStability Program Updated to Include Pasture-Related Feed Costs Beginning in 2026 Monday, March 2, 2026 In case you missed it last week, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced that pasture-related feed costs will be added as an allowable expense under AgriStability starting with the 2026 program year. The update addresses rising operational... Read this article online
Bringing more Food and Ingredient Processing Back to Canadian Soil Monday, March 2, 2026 Protein Industries Canada has announced the second cohort of nine companies participating in its Program, an initiative designed to bring more food and ingredient processing back to Canadian soil and expand the nation’s value‑added agriculture sector. The selected companies span the... Read this article online