Canada's chicken farmers plan to eliminate some antibiotic use by May 2014 Tuesday, December 10, 2013 by SUSAN MANN Chicken farmers will no longer be able to use antibiotics considered important in human medicine in a preventative way for their poultry starting in May. Chicken Farmers of Canada has implemented a policy to eliminate the preventative use of Category 1 antibiotics, a Health Canada classification that identifies the most important antibiotics used in human medicine, says Steve Leech, Chicken Farmers food safety, animal care and research program manager. The products include the Ceftiofur and Baytril family of antibiotics. Ceftiofur is used at hatcheries to prevent yolk sac infection, he says. There isn’t widespread use of this type of antibiotic by chicken farmers and hatcheries. “Anecdotally there has certainly been a reduction in use in the last year to two years” but Chicken Farmers doesn’t have actual statistics. Baytril use is “very, very low but it is still a Category 1 drug so we wanted to include it under the same policy,” he says. Antibiotics listed in Health Canada’s second and third classification categories are less important in human medicine, and those in Category 4 aren’t used for human medicines. The Chicken Farmers policy just covers Category 1 antibiotics and not Categories 2 to 4. Leech says the implementation date is May 15, 2014 and “it will be a mandatory requirement in” Chicken Farmers on-farm food safety program. The food safety program is mandatory in all 10 provinces, and more than 98 per cent of farmers are certified on it. All farms are audited annually as part of the food safety program. Statements on both hatchery invoices and flock sheets will be included “to indicate that there’s been no Category 1 drugs used in a preventative fashion,” he says. “The food safety program will be the vehicle by which we enforce this.” Instead of the antibiotics, chicken farmers, hatching egg producers and hatcheries can use management practices to mitigate the impact on first week mortality levels, he says. “That’s the impact we’re trying to mitigate through some of these management practices.” Leech says Chicken Farmers’ on-farm food safety program received full recognition from federal, provincial and territorial governments in March and that “speaks to the credibility of the program” and it shows the commitment the industry has to food safety. BF Farmer appeals Huron Perth dairy vote Consumer group advocates new approach to governing food product information
Forage Focus 2024 takes place on December 6 Thursday, October 24, 2024 The Ontario Forage Council (OFC) has announced that its 2024 event will be on Friday, December 6, starting at 9:30 AM. The is being held in conjunction with the annual conference of the Canadian Forage & Grassland Association (CFGA) being hosted in Guelph, Ontario, this year, and... Read this article online
Register now for Forage Focus - hay as a cash crop Thursday, October 24, 2024 Register now for the Forage Focus tour and trade show The Ontario Forage Council (OFC) is excited to announce that the Forage Focus event will take place on Friday, December 6th, beginning at 9:30 AM. This year’s Forage Focus is part of the Canadian Forage & Grassland Association’s (CFGA)... Read this article online
Inflatable Wedges Make Lifting Large Objects a Breeze Friday, October 18, 2024 Byline: Zahra Sadiq The hardest part about moving farming equipment, tools, and other items on the farm is the initial lift off from the ground. The traditional wedge has been the go-to solution to solving problems like this; however, there is a new alternative that might just take... Read this article online
Calhoun super structure ranks among top growing Canadian companies Friday, October 18, 2024 Calhoun Super Structure Ltd. is proud to announce its ranking of No. 342 on The Globe and Mail’s 2024 Report on Business magazine's list of Canada’s Top Growing Companies. This achievement marks the third consecutive year that Calhoun has made this prestigious ranking, which... Read this article online
5.5% values rise in Canadian farmland - FCC Report Friday, October 11, 2024 FCC reports strong increase in Canadian farmland values According to Farm Credit Canada (FCC), Canadian cultivated farmland values experienced an average increase of 5.5% in the first half of 2024. Over the 12 months from July 2023 to June 2024, farmland values rose by 9.6%, although... Read this article online