Reading Time: 11 minutes Just making one of these moves would be a huge step for any farm, let alone both of them. First, the Haskett family switched their farm from hogs to goats. Then, years later, they pivoted their market strategy too, launching their own new brand. In this article, we dive deep into how the family made […] Read more
Summer Series: Pivot, and then pivot some more
[Change Management] Why would this family abandon mainline commodities, and then dig in even deeper
Minnesota goat confirmed infected with bird flu
NDSU advises keeping livestock separate from potentially-infected poultry
Reading Time: < 1 minute A juvenile goat in Minnesota has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the first confirmed case of bird flu in U.S. livestock.
CFIA seeks feedback on traceability, animal ID amendments
Producers have until June 16 to comment on proposals
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is now seeking comment on its proposed amendments to livestock identification and traceability regulations. The regulatory proposal would address what the agency calls “gaps” in the current system, including: adding goats and cervids as animal species that share diseases with other regulated livestock, and therefore subject to traceability requirements, shortening […] Read more
Plans afoot to move hay from East to drought-hit West
CFA, BFO spearheading Hay West-style initiatives
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm groups are spearheading new plans to get livestock feed from Eastern Canada to drought-damaged regions of the western provinces and northwestern Ontario. Details are still pending, but the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) announced Aug. 12 it has started work on a “Hay West” initiative to get surplus hay “to those struggling in the […] Read more
Ontario names new ag minister in shuffle
Lisa Thompson replaces Ernie Hardeman
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario Premier Doug Ford has drawn another aggie from his existing cabinet to replace Ernie Hardeman as his agriculture minister. Ford on Friday announced a major cabinet shuffle, dropping Hardeman, the long-time MPP for Oxford, from the cabinet table and naming Lisa Thompson as minister for agriculture, food and rural affairs. Thompson, who until Friday […] Read more
U.S. transport regulators reject ’emotional support animal’ status
Service dog status still protected; 'support' goats, turkeys, others up to airlines
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — Only trained dogs qualify as service animals on U.S. airlines, as regulators rejected requests to extend legal protections to miniature horses, pigs, turkeys and other species, under final U.S. Transportation Department rules issued Wednesday. Airlines can still choose which other species to allow on board, but the rules issued on Wednesday […] Read more
Blast kills at least 23 at Afghanistan livestock market
Area shelled in clashes between government forces, Taliban
Reading Time: 1 minute Kabul | Reuters — At least 23 civilians were killed in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province and dozens were wounded when rockets hit a cattle market on Monday, Afghan government and Taliban officials said. The warring sides blamed each other for the attack on the open-air weekly cattle market in Sangin district, where hundreds of villagers […] Read more
No turkeys, pigs, goats: U.S. to let airlines limit service animals
Miniature horses still up for discussion
Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Transportation Department on Wednesday proposed giving airlines the power to bar emotional support animals from cabins and limit the definition of a service animal to a trained dog. The proposed new rules are aimed at preventing passengers from falsely claiming their pets are service animals aboard U.S. airline flights. […] Read more
Agropur halts talks with Quebec goat dairy producers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Agropur has gone back to Plan A for the fate of a major Quebec soft cheese processing plant after halting talks with the province’s goat dairy farmer association. Canada’s biggest dairy co-operative had announced in September last year it would close the former Fromagerie Damafro plant at Saint-Damase, Que. in April this year, but delayed […] Read more
The first-generation farmers of Hillside Dreams Goat Dairy
Like other new farmers across Canada, Barrie and Merel Voth may not produce the commodities you’d expect, or farm at the scale you’d like, but they’re committed, brave, and very, very smart
Reading Time: 6 minutes How serious are Barrie and Merel Voth about their start-up goat dairy venture? Serious enough that they wrote exactly two exit options into their farm lease agreement. Bankruptcy. Or death. “Oh, but don’t write that!” says Merel. In April last year, when they signed on the dotted line for their five-year lease agreement at Silver […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
