U.S. sow gestation stalls under attack Sunday, April 1, 2012 The pressure to end the use of dry sow stalls is growing south of the border, and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is the vise. In early February, the Austin Daily Herald in Minnesota reported that Jeff Ettinge, chief executive of Hormel Foods, announced at its annual general meeting plans to end use of sow gestation crates on its Arizona farms by next year and in Colorado and Wyoming by 2017. Ettinge was responding to a question from a member of the HSUS, which is a shareholder.At about the same time, the HSUS announced it was going after Wal-Mart suppliers Seaboard Foods and Prestige Farms. HSUS subsequently complained to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Trade Commission that Seaboard and Prestige spread "grossly false and misleading statements" about its animal welfare practices."McDonald's Corporation announced it will require its U.S. pork suppliers to outline their plans to phase out use of sow gestation stalls by May. "McDonald's wants to see the end of sow confinement in gestation stalls in our supply chain," said a joint press release with HSUS.In addition, Bon Appetit Management, a nationwide food service operator, announced it would phase out pork products from stall-housed sows by 2015. BP Behind the Lines - April 2012 Pakistan capital inundated with wild boars
Pork producers applaud long-awaited EPA data decision Friday, November 6, 2026 For more than 20 years, hog and other livestock farmers have lived with uncertainty over what new federal permitting or reporting requirements could result from an emissions study conducted nearly two decades ago. In a regulatory win for pork producers and other farmers, the Environmental... Read this article online
Ag in the House: Oct. 26 – 30 Friday, November 6, 2026 On Oct. 26, Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald fielded a question from a fellow Liberal MP about how the federal government is supporting food security across Canada. Chi Nguyen, the Ontario MP for Spadina—Harbourfront, asked the minister to share how the government is going to invest... Read this article online
What is Struvite? Could it Help Farmers Stretch Phosphorus and Reduce Runoff Friday, November 6, 2026 Canadian researchers are exploring whether a fertilizer recovered from wastewater could become part of a more sustainable approach to phosphorus management on farms. Research from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) indicates that struvite, when used alongside conventional... Read this article online
NASA Uses Satellite Imagery to Assess Ukraine Harvests Friday, November 6, 2026 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 disrupted agricultural production and the country’s ability to monitor crop conditions. With winter wheat and rapeseed already planted before the conflict began, questions emerged about how much farmland farmers could access and... Read this article online
Kalon Armstrong joins Nofence as managing director for Canada Friday, November 6, 2026 Nofence has brought in an agtech professional with more than a decade of experience to lead its commercial launch in Canada. Kalon Armstrong, a co-founder of Enriched Ag, an Alberta-based data insight company focused on ranching and grazing management, is Nofence’s managing director for... Read this article online