goats in trees

High-priced oil from a goat’s rear end

A traditional oil made by goats in Morocco is now a hot product for the cosmetic market

Seeing a bunch of goats standing in a tree and munching away is hard enough to believe. It’s even harder to believe what they’re producing, how, and how much it sells for. But goats in trees are what travellers encounter on the highway that runs from Marrakech to Essaouira on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Two more states’ eggs, poultry allowed into Canada

Cross-border travellers may again bring raw poultry meat, eggs and live birds into Canada from North Dakota and Missouri. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency last week shortened its list of U.S. states under avian influenza-related restrictions to just one. Indiana remains under limits imposed in January after highly pathogenic (“high-path”) H7N8 avian flu turned up at […] Read more



(PremiumBrandsHoldings.com)

Premium Brands buys meat supplier C+C

Montreal meat distributor and processor C+C Packing is set to become a new eastern arm for Vancouver food firm Premium Brands. Premium Brands last Tuesday announced a $146 million cash-and-stock deal to buy C+C and its in-house processing arm Premier Meat Packers. The company supplies fresh and frozen meats to grocery chains, the hotel and […] Read more


Mexico clears Canadian poultry meat for import

Duck and other poultry from Canada may again be exported to Mexico, for the first time since 2004. Canada’s Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland on Thursday announced Mexico had reopened its border to fresh poultry meat including chicken, turkey and, “most significant in terms of historical trade,” duck. Mexico had […] Read more

Does anyone care about the farm?

Does anyone care about the farm?

Some questions for farm families to help create a successful legacy

I’ve just read David Specht’s book The Farm Whisperer…secrets to preserving families and perpetuating farms. It’s a great, quick read of inspiring questions for farm families wanting to transition management and ownership to create a successful legacy. Specht and I met on the Internet… I Googled him, then picked up the phone, then we exchanged […] Read more



VIDEO (producer.com): Sask. agriculture debate, March 22

VIDEO (producer.com): Sask. agriculture debate, March 22

The April 4 Saskatchewan provincial election is just around the corner and five parties with five policies are in contention to guide the country’s largest agricultural province. The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan and the Western Producer were on-hand to bring producers the agricultural issues from the politicians’ perspectives in a live debate on March […] Read more


These black kernels are ergot in barley, but the disease found in most cereals, can also infect wheatgrass, brome, wild rye and other wild grasses.

Even a small dose of ergot is harmful

Research may lead to new feeding regulations

Ergot is a fungus that can grow on certain grasses and grain plants, often under certain growing season moisture conditions, but other crop fertility issues can be at play as well. Ergot becomes a problem mainly after a wet season, rarely during dry conditions. The fungus replaces the seed head with a dark brown/black mass […] Read more

Lisa Guenther

Four tips for talking to journalists

Here's what you need to know before talking to reporters about your farm situation

As a reporter, a big part of my job is getting farmers to talk to me. In this column, I’m going to tell you why you might want to think twice about being interviewed. Or, if you decide to talk to a journalist, what you need to know. Before tapping out this column, I spoke […] Read more