By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday, January 17, 2023

Jan 17, 2023 | 11:06 AM

MELFORT, Sask. – Manitoba’s agriculture minister said a meeting with his federal, provincial, and territorial counterparts last week recognized progress on finalizing an industry-led grocery code of conduct.

Derek Johnson said consumers in Manitoba and across the country need more transparency and predictability in retail food prices, and an assurance of fair dealing and practices in Canada’s food supply chain.

Agriculture and agri-food ministers met virtually on Friday, where Johnson said they also discussed strategies to guard against African swine fever from entering the country, and to be prepared with measures to protect producers if it does.

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A new HyLife weaning ramp has the potential to improve animal care across the industry.

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The ramp was created by the Continuous Improvement Team (CI), a group of engineers dedicated to solving challenges while improving animal welfare.

After listening to farm employees, it was discovered that picking up piglets and bringing them to the employee performing vaccination placed a strain on both the staff and animals.

HyLife Senior Vice President of Farms Division Lyle Loewen said the company knew there was a better way.

“We prioritize animal care and lean on our in-house experts and CI team to develop a creative solution. The result is a ramp that eliminates the need to pick up piglets” he said. “This means less stress and more safety for both our animals and employees.”

The piglets enter an alleyway and towards the ramp in groups. Once up the ramp, a gate using a pulley system is lowered. Employees can easily begin picking the piglets from waist height to be vaccinated. Gradual sloping slides, off each side of the station, bring the piglet back down slowly and safely to ground level.

The HyLife weaning ramp won an innovation award at the 2023 Banff Pork Seminar. It has also been praised by renowned animal behavioralist Dr. Temple Grandin.

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Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) in Alberta has announced the official results for the election of three directors to its board of directors for 2023-2024.

Returning to the board are Dr. David Chalack and Jason Lenz. Joining them is newly elected Josie Van Lent.

The appointments are for a term of three years starting January 2023.

RDAR is a producer-led organization with representation from all areas of crop and livestock production, academia and business. Its mandate is to target strategic investments in agriculture research to power the competitiveness, profitability, productivity, and sustainability of agriculture in Alberta.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW