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
New Hardiness Map Shows Shifting Climate Impacts On Plant Growth Wednesday, August 13, 2025 For the first time in more than a decade, Canada’s plant hardiness zone map has been updated, offering growers across the country a more accurate tool to guide planting decisions. Developed by scientists, John Pedlar and Dan McKenney,at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the map uses advanced... Read this article online
Better Soil Health Improves Rain Absorption Wednesday, August 13, 2025 The OMAFA Fieldcropnews.com team recently held demonstrations regarding how soil management can greatly affect the amount of rainfall absorbed into the soil for crop use. This is especially important for corn, soybean, and wheat growers facing dry spells or intense summer storms. In early... Read this article online
Sunflower farming in Ontario Wednesday, August 13, 2025 While Manitoba dominates sunflower production in Canada—accounting for about 90 percent of the national output (https://oggardenonline.com/where-in-canada-are-sunflowers-grown.html)—Ontario is home to a growing number of sunflower farms. These farms are often smaller in scale and... Read this article online
Canadian Wheat & Canola - Global Leaders in Low Emissions Wednesday, August 13, 2025 A recent study posted on Nature.com has revealed that Canadian wheat and canola crops boast significantly lower carbon footprints compared to those produced in other countries. The carbon footprint analysis highlighted key factors such as soil carbon flux and nitrous oxide emissions that... Read this article online
Swine Health Snapshot – CWSHIN Q2 2025 Tuesday, August 12, 2025 The Canadian West Swine Health Intelligence Network (CWSHIN) plays a critical role in safeguarding swine health across Western Canada. By collecting, analyzing, and sharing real-time disease intelligence from veterinarians, producers, and laboratories, CWSHIN helps identify emerging threats... Read this article online