Test tubes labelled “Bird Flu” and eggs are seen in this picture illustration, January 14, 2023.
 Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File

Two dozen companies working to find bird flu vaccine for cows, US agriculture secretary says

Reuters – Twenty-four companies are working to develop an avian flu vaccine for cattle, as the virus spreads among U.S. dairy herds, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters on Wednesday. Bird flu has infected 90 dairy herds across 12 states since late March, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Three dairy farm workers […] Read more

Jodie Griffin, program coordinator for the Livestock Price Insurance program, presents at the SSGA AGM.  Photo: Melissa Jeffers-Bezan

Livestock Price Insurance coming to maritime producers

At the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) conference on June 10 in Swift Current, Sask., Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) vice president Tyler Fulton highlighted the expansion of Livestock Price Insurance, which will be available to producers in Eastern Canada. Initially announced in February, the expansion will finally come into effect sometime this week. “It’s something […] Read more



File photo of a desk in Canada’s Senate. (Dougall_Photography/iStock/Getty Images)

Biosecurity bill draws questions from Senate ag committee

Some senators said the bill should cover everyone who enters a livestock operation because anyone can pose a biosecurity threat

Senate scrutiny has begun on Bill C-275, the private member's bill to amend the Health of Animals Act, which would increase fines for those who unlawfully enter livestock barns and processing facilities.


Parliament Hill, in Ottawa – Ontario, Canada. Photo: Ulysse Pixel

Farm groups criticize capital gains inclusion rate change

Ten national organizations say several tax-related changes in the 2024 federal budget will impact farmers 

In a May 27 letter to finance minister Chrystia Freeland, agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay and national revenue minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, 10 signatories said they are concerned about the capital gains inclusion rate, the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) and the Canadian Entrepreneurs’ Incentive (CEI), which were all announced in April.