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
Calf Auction Raises Funds for Youth Monday, June 30, 2025 Wyatt Westman-Frijters from Milverton won a heifer calf named Ingrid through a World Milk Day promotion by Maplevue Farms and a local Perth, Ontario radio station. Instead of keeping the calf, 22-year-old Westman-Frijters chose to give back to the community. The calf was sent to the... Read this article online
Expert Gopher Help for Farmers Friday, June 27, 2025 With gopher populations increasing across Saskatchewan, many landowners are struggling with crop loss and land damage. These rodents not only reduce crop yields but also create dangerous conditions for livestock. In response, the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF), supported by the... Read this article online
Cattle Stress Tool May Boost Fertility Friday, June 27, 2025 Kansas State University researchers have developed a cool tool that may help reduce cattle stress and improve artificial insemination (AI) results. The idea came from animal science experts Nicholas Wege Dias and Sandy Johnson, who observed that cattle accustomed to their environment... Read this article online
Ontario pasture lands get $5M boost Friday, June 27, 2025 The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $5 million to strengthen shared community grazing pastures. This funding supports the province’s plan to protect Ontario’s agriculture sector and help cattle farmers improve pasture quality, ensuring long-term sustainability and... Read this article online
Pigs on the prairie: Manitoba’s fight against a growing wild hog invasion Thursday, June 26, 2025 They root through farmland, tear up native landscapes, spread disease, and multiply rapidly. Wild pigs are fast becoming one of Manitoba’s most destructive and difficult invasive species — and experts say the time to act is now. Dr. Wayne Lees, coordinator of Squeal on Pigs Manitoba,... Read this article online