(Shadowinternet/E+/Getty Images)

ASF compartmentalization moves a step forward

Plan not an attempt to download responsibilities, CFIA says

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada is one step closer to a compartmentalizing regime that hog farmers and the rest of the industry hope protects them against market impacts of African swine fever. Practical application can be developed now that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has released its National Standards and National Framework for the Canadian ASF Compartment Program. From […] Read more

Conservative agriculture critic John Barlow speaks Nov. 24, 2021 in the House of Commons. (Screengrab from supplied video)

Anti-activist bill back before Commons committee

Bill adds protections for biosecurity, farmers' mental health, Barlow says

Reading Time: 3 minutes A bill to create harsher penalties for unlawful entry onto farms and biosecure zones is back before the House of Commons after a previous iteration died on the order table in 2021. Conservative MP John Barlow brought forward Bill C-275, “an Act to amend the Health of Animals Act (biosecurity on farms),” as a private […] Read more


(FatCamera/iStock/Getty Images)

Beekeepers call to reopen cross-border package bee trade

Ten years after the last risk assessment, some say it’s time to re-evaluate

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian beekeepers are calling for the federal government to reopen the border to the importation of U.S. package honeybees. Witnesses at a meeting of the House of Commons standing committee on agriculture and agri-food last Wednesday presented recommendations for what the government could do to resolve issues of honeybee health decline and bee mortality. The […] Read more

File photo of goats on display at the Hanover Agricultural Fair in Grunthal, Man. in August 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

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


File photo of piglets at a hog operation in China. (KuLouKu/iStock/Getty Images)

Federal funding lined up for programs, planning against swine fever

Two-year package to go toward pork industry work

Reading Time: 4 minutes The federal government is putting up an eight-figure funding wall to help prevent African swine fever from ever reaching Canada’s hog farms — and to prepare against any breach. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Aug. 26 the government will provide up to $45.3 million toward a three-pronged effort to boost disease prevention and preparedness: pork […] Read more

Sea Temple of Pura Luhur, Uluwatu, south Bali, Indonesia. (CIA.gov)

Indonesia’s foot-and-mouth outbreak prompts international measures

'Viral fragments' detected in meats brought into Australia

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Australia and New Zealand say they’ve stepped up protections against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) at their international airports following an outbreak of the disease in Indonesia. Travellers arriving in Australia from Indonesia will now be asked to walk across sanitation foot mats at airports, the latest measure to ramp up Australia’s biosecurity measures, the […] Read more


A male mule deer.  Photo: kahj19/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Chronic wasting disease discovered in Manitoba

Reading Time: 2 minutes The province says there’s no evidence the first case of chronic wasting disease discovered in Manitoba is in any way linked to nearby farmed elk operations. In a media release announcing the case, officials said it was found near Lake of the Prairies as part of the province’s wildlife health surveillance program. It was in […] Read more

(USDA.gov via Flickr)

USDA analyzing effects of wild pigs on crops, livestock

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters –– The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Friday it has started analyzing for the first time data it has collected on the impact that wild pigs have on U.S. farmers’ crop and livestock operations. It is estimated by federal and state agricultural officials that there are more than five million wild […] Read more