AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY MUST KICK DANGEROUS ANTIBIOTIC HABIT . . . EXPANDED SAWMILL AND NEW EQUIPMENT HELP IMPROVE COMPANY’S PRODUCTIVITY . . . WINNERS OF 2014 CANADIAN YOUNG SPEAKERS FOR AGRICULTURE COMPETITION ANNOUNCED . . . HAVE YOUR SAY! . . . OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST...

AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY MUST KICK DANGEROUS ANTIBIOTIC HABIT
Source: The Globe and Mail
As the saying goes, bad habits are incredibly hard to break. Usually an unpleasant revelation is needed to wake people up to the need for change. In health care, where antibiotics have been improperly seen as the first line of defense against infectious disease rather than the last resort, that moment came in 2011 when researchers discovered a strain of gonorrhea capable of resisting all known recommended antibiotics. Public health officials had no choice but to accept the error of their ways and change strategy. Today, in order to save antimicrobials for the future, they have been relegated to be the last resort. And now, it seems, it’s agriculture’s turn. (read more)

EXPANDED SAWMILL AND NEW EQUIPMENT HELP IMPROVE COMPANY’S PRODUCTIVITY
Source: Farm Focus
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) has invested $473,300 in the project that involved a building expansion and the installation of advanced technology. On Nov. 10 Tobique-Mactaquac MP Mike Allen toured the facility on behalf of ACOA Minister Rob Moore. Company Vice-President of Operations Roland Doré pointed out that an obsolete circular saw and carriage had been replaced with a new high efficiency band saw and carriage. A new scanner technology system had also been added to improve wood usage. These upgrades will increase the profitability of the various lines of wooden dowels that are manufactured at the company’s sawmill, and help the plant remain competitive. (read more)

WINNERS OF 2014 CANADIAN YOUNG SPEAKERS FOR AGRICULTURE COMPETITION ANNOUNCED
Source: Real Agriculture
Saturday, November 8, the 2014 Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition crowned its winners at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.

Noah Burnett from Cormack, Newfoundland, took first place in the Junior competition with his speech discussing why he will choose a career in agriculture. (read more)

HAVE YOUR SAY!
Source: NSFA
The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) has launched a Labour Market Information (LMI) research survey to examine Canada’s agricultural workforce from every commodity and region. Producers across Canada are encouraged to participate in the survey, whether they are farming full-time or part-time, alone or with help. The Conference Board of Canada is conducting the survey on behalf of the Canadian Ag HR Council and is seeking participation from farm owner-operators, agricultural workers, and agribusiness stakeholders from November 12 through to January 22, 2015. (read more)

The staff and contributors at AtlanticFarmer.com would like to express our sympathy to Donna Langille and her family on the death of her husband Jim Fraser last week. Jim and Donna lived and worked together on their farm in Bayhead on the north shore of Nova Scotia.