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Agriculture This Week: Farming always evolving

When you have grown up on a farm in the 1960s and ‘70s it is almost beyond belief the changes in farming we see today. 

It was a mixed farm for me, and that meant pigs and grain. 

In my youth I hauled a lot of ground grain to feed the pigs using cleaned five-gallon pails that originally were filled with some weed spray, or another. 

Looking back over some 40-years it seems like it was such a crazy thing, but repurposing the pails was pretty standard. I’m pretty sure potatoes came from the garden to the cellar bin in similar pails. 

Of course I clearly recall Dad taking plugged nozzles off the sprayer, his gloves getting soaked in the process, and then simply blowing out the nozzle with his breath. 

Knowing what we do now it’s a wonder what health problems were caused in a time we didn’t know better, or were reluctant to change. Dad lived to a considerable age, his heart giving out one day, but one wonders. 


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Environmental Effects on Sow Fertility - Dr. Isabela Bez

Video: Environmental Effects on Sow Fertility - Dr. Isabela Bez

In this special episode celebrating International Women's Day of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, we bring Dr. Isabela Bez, a veterinarian and PhD student in Brazil, who explains how temperature and light regimes influence sow reproductive performance. She discusses seasonal infertility, climate adaptation, and why environmental monitoring inside barns is critical for herd efficiency. The episode highlights practical management strategies to reduce reproductive losses and improve outcomes. Listen now on all major platforms. "Environmental factors are actually very important on sow reproduction, and sometimes these are the factors that producers tend to not pay attention." Meet the guest: Dr. Isabela Bez / isabela-cristina-cola%c3%a7o-bez-1753381b0 is a veterinarian and PhD student in Animal Science at Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR), Brazil. Her work focuses on swine reproduction, nutrition, and animal welfare, with strong expertise in environmental effects on sow performance. She collaborates with international farms and research groups to improve reproductive efficiency through applied science.