Celine Dion and Bob Marley help Rwandan pigs digest Monday, December 6, 2010 According to Canwest News and Reuters News Service, Edmund Ndizeye, a farm pig herdsman in Urwibutso, Rwanda, plays hip-hop, reggae, rhythm and blues, and even a bit of Canadian Shania Twain's country music to his pigs. He claims rearing pigs with music doubles their yields in terms of offspring, quality of the meat and their weight.They get a diet of soft tunes from Celine Dion and Bob Marley to help them digest after eating restaurant and juice plant leftovers, and aggressive dance tracks later to make the boars more virile.The Urwibutso farm is a wealth re-distribution project in a hungry African country. Farm director Gerard Sina gives away 150 piglets to local families every month. The farm gets back a first-born and the original mother is passed on to another family. The foster family keeps the rest.Half of Rwanda's population of 10 million has trouble meeting its food needs and half of its children are chronically under-nourished. The government has trebled agricultural spending as a percentage of gross domestic product since 2007, and ag sector growth is more than six per cent annually. The government's goal is to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. BP Pig rearing is tops for profit in India Behind the Lines - December 2010
Prairie ag organizations join Global Agriculture Technology Exchange Wednesday, September 18, 2024 Three ag organizations from western Canada have announced their involvement to help position Canada as a world leader in cereal grains. Alberta Grains, the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission and the Manitoba Crop Alliance are contributing more than $13 million towards the Global... Read this article online
Alistair MacGregor no longer federal NDP agriculture critic Wednesday, September 18, 2024 The federal NDP has a new agriculture critic. Richard Cannings, the MP for South Okanagan – West Kootenay, is stepping into the role after Alistair MacGregor, the MP for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford, is moving onto different responsibilities. “Big news today, as I have accepted new... Read this article online
Where could ag fit in the fall session of Parliament? Tuesday, September 17, 2024 MPs returned to Ottawa this week to begin the fall session of Parliament. With the NDP pulling out of its supply and confidence agreement with the Liberals, a federal election could be triggered at any time if a non-confidence vote passes in the House. The carbon tax, cost of living... Read this article online
BASF introduces Surtain herbicide for field corn growers Tuesday, September 17, 2024 Field corn growers in eastern Canada have a new crop protection product available to them. After about 10 years of research and trials, BASF has introduced Surtain, a residual herbicide for corn that combines PPO inhibitor saflufenacil (Group 14) and pyroxasulfone (Group 15) in a premix... Read this article online
Canada rail union launches court challenges to back-to-work order Monday, September 16, 2024 The union representing workers at Canada's two main rail companies said on Friday it had filed court challenges against rulings by the country's industrial labor board that forced them back to work,Reuters reported. On Saturday, the board accepted a request from the government to order... Read this article online