Acorn-eating pigs save ponies Thursday, December 5, 2013 After a wet spring and a dry summer, there's a bumper crop of acorns in the Hampshire woodland on the southern coast of England. That's bad news for the region's famous New Forest ponies. In a Daily Mail article, top forest official Jonathan Gerelli said: 'The problem is that our ponies like the acorns but the acorns don't like them. If they eat them, they tend to start to bleed internally and die a horrible death."But the acorns aren't poisonous to pigs, so every year in about mid-September local farmers let their pigs loose in the forest to save the ponies from themselves by eating the fallen acorns first. This practice is known as "pannage," and has been going on in the region since the 19th century, when some 6,000 pigs would forage. These days, the number is usually around 200, though the unusually high amount of acorns called for double the pigs this year. After about 60 days in the 70,000-acre forest, the pigs are rounded up and returned to their farms. As a side benefit, pannage fattens up the pigs for Christmas. BP Eating bacon may extend your life Gestation crates (almost) banned in New Jersey
Biosecurity Key to Maintaining Effective Foreign Animal Disease Prevention Monday, October 28, 2024 The Swine Health Information Center is advising North American Swine producers to maintain their focus on biosecurity as the global African Swine Fever situation continues to evolve.As part of its October eNewsletter the Swine Health Information Center has released its monthly domestic and... Read this article online
Canada in Third Spot for Global Wheat Exports Monday, October 28, 2024 Stable Harvests Push Canada to 3rd in World Wheat Exports For the second consecutive year, Canada is poised to retain its rank as the world’s third-largest wheat exporter, propelled by rising crop yields across the prairie provinces and drought conditions in other... Read this article online
KAP looking for collaboration in school food program Monday, October 28, 2024 Manitoba’s general farm organization wants to be involved when it comes to the province rolling out its part of the national school food program. Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) “has raised the topic with government in past discussions of including Manitoba producers in the... Read this article online
Setting the record straight on Bill C-282 and what it means for Canada Monday, October 28, 2024 An op-ed from Egg Farmers of Canada, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Chicken Farmers of Canada, Turkey Farmers of Canada, and the Canadian Hatching Egg Producers. Canada is an attractive trading partner for many nations. Arguing that countries would abandon trade talks simply because we... Read this article online
Fostering Mental Health Awareness at Advancing Women in Ag Conference Monday, October 28, 2024 By Deanna Ciaccia Mental health issues among farmers are increasingly pressing, with nearly 30% of agricultural workers in North America experiencing anxiety or depression. These challenges do not affect farmers in isolation; they ripple through families and communities,... Read this article online