(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Greig: Salmonella strain hard to treat in livestock

Reading Time: 2 minutes A strain of salmonella resistant to multiple antimicrobials is spreading in Ontario and Quebec cattle herds. There have been 23 cases of Salmonella Dublin in 15 herds reported in Ontario since 2012, but the numbers have been increasing each year. There were eight cases reported in 2015 and four in 2016 through August. Dr. Dave […] Read more

(Ontario.ca)

Restricted zone tightens for Algonquin wolf hunting

Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers will be able to protect their livestock and families from Algonquin wolves in any areas and hunting will only be restricted in areas near four parks, allaying some concerns of farmers after the wolf was declared a threatened species. Kathryn McGarry, Ontario minister of natural resources and forestry, spoke to the Ontario Federation of […] Read more


Ontario Environment Minister Glen Murray spoke about his understanding of agriculture at the recent OFA annual meeting. (John Greig photo)

Greig: Ontario environment minister reaches out to farmers

Reading Time: 3 minutes The Ontario Liberal government appears to be attempting to mend the gap created between the government and rural Ontario. Premier Kathleen Wynne apologized on Nov. 19 to Ontarians for the significant rise in electricity costs, now about the highest in North America. According to media reports she said it was her mistake and her government […] Read more

Foliar symptoms of SDS in a soybean crop. (APSnet.org)

First soy seed treatment cleared against SDS

Reading Time: 2 minutes A Bayer CropScience fungicide is being pressed into service against sudden death syndrome (SDS) in Canadian soybeans. Bayer on Monday launched a new soybean seed treatment dubbed ILeVO, a suspension containing its Group 7 fungicide fluopyram at a rate of 600 grams per litre. ILeVO will be the first soybean seed treatment registered for use […] Read more


"It was the best decision — having two separate businesses instead of sharing one,” says Steve, with Amanda on their farm, just down the road from the family operation.

Generating farm independence

Sometimes, the best solution can be for the next generation to build a farm of their own

Reading Time: 10 minutes The roads here are typical for this part of rural Ontario, running between neighbouring towns. On either side, at the end of long maple-sided lanes are well-kept dairy, beef and crop farms divided into 100-acre parcels, with red and black barns stamped proudly with farm names, usually family names. Occasionally too a lane is overgrown, […] Read more

Photo: File

Feds fund tomato and apple research

Reading Time: < 1 minute An Ontario research station is getting nearly a million dollars from the Federal government to develop new disease-resistant apple and greenhouse tomato varieties. The Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, located in Lincoln, Ont., will build on work done earlier by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists, who will continue to be heavily involved in the research. […] Read more


(Photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

PED outbreaks slow, but still top of mind in Ontario

Reading Time: < 1 minute Swine Health Ontario dedicated its recent annual Big Bug Day to continuing toward the goal of eradicating porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) from Ontario. Martin Misener, a vet and chair of the Ontario Swine Health Advisory Board, challenged the hog industry to not get complacent about stopping PED. Misener noted he had heard from people who […] Read more

(VDL.umn.edu)

Cull sows no longer stopped at U.S. border

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s swine industry appears to have dodged what could have been an economic catastrophe with quick action on senecavirus A. In August this year, 13 Ontario animals were identified with lesions on their snouts or hooves at a processing plant in the U.S., triggering a memo from the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service to […] Read more


"Supporting local farmers and keeping an authentic farm community absolutely makes sense here.” – Philly Markowitz

Getting serious about local food

Philly Markowitz is fired up about supporting local farmers in an effort to build up rural communities throughout Ontario’s Grey County

Reading Time: 8 minutes Generations of rugged farmers have worked this rugged landscape. They’ve run cattle, they’ve pastured sheep, they’ve planted crops. None of it has been easy. South of Georgian Bay, the county’s highlands are notoriously cold, the ground rolls unpredictably in all directions, and the soil is just plain tough. If Grey County was an old building, […] Read more

(VDL.umn.edu)

Ontario hogs confirmed with senecavirus

Reading Time: 2 minutes A hog virus watched closely in North America for its strong family resemblance to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has turned up in hogs in Ontario. Officials with hog industry body Ontario Pork reported Monday that senecavirus A, formerly called Seneca Valley virus or SVV, has been confirmed in the province. Neighbouring industry body Manitoba Pork said […] Read more