Trichinosis case first in 30 years Thursday, October 10, 2013 A single case of trichinosis in a child who ate meat from a pig raised on his parents' Bruce County farm has highlighted just how rare this disease is.The Owen Sound Sun Times reports that the child contracted the disease in January on a non-commercial Mennonite farm where the pig was raised and slaughtered. No meat was sold into the food chain and the incident was mentioned in passing at the monthly public health board meeting. The child recovered without treatment.The newspaper quoted public health officer Hazel Lynn as reporting that the pig was free of trichinosis when it was purchased and likely contracted the disease from rats eating the food, which included table scraps. According to the article, trichinosis last broke out in pigs in Ontario in 1977, and the last human case from domestic pork in Canada was in 1980. The same story said that some people got sick after eating smoked wild boar meat in 1993.The article says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency tests about 18,000 market hogs annually and every three to five years another 16,000 sows are tested as part of a surveillance program. BP Japanese increase protein consumption with chicken Car maker jumps on the bacon bandwagon
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
Olymel announces $142-million expansion of Trois-Rivières plant Thursday, June 26, 2025 In a recent press release, Olymel announced a $142-million expansion of its La Fernandière pork and poultry processing plant in Trois-Rivières, Quebec in Canada. Construction is set to begin immediately, with operations scheduled to start in spring 2026. The project will expand the... Read this article online