Third-World Farmers Getting Southwestern Ontario Help

Apr 16, 2014

A Southwestern Ontario farm service company and some volunteers are teaming up to help third-world farmers increase their yields by using modern techniques.

South West Ag Partners project manager Jim Hazzard says Lambton farmer Mark Lumley got the organization involved in helping small land owners in Zambia.

“He looked at it and did a trial corn plot of a quarter of an acre that did very well, and Mark contacted us and we went over to see if we could replicate this on a bigger scale,” he says. “They were planting around 22,000 seeds per acre and we upped that to what we plant around 32,000 and we upped the fertilizer.”

He says the company and volunteers have a three year commitment and believe there will be increased yields in the first crop which is nearing harvest.

Source: Agrimedia

Video: What Does 20 MILLION Hogs a Year Look Like?

?? The Multi-Plant System Processing 20 Million Hogs Annually in the Midwest JBS USA operates multiple large-scale pork processing facilities across the Midwest, including major plants in Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana. Combined, these facilities have the capacity to process approximately 20 million hogs annually.

Each plant operates high-speed automated slaughter systems capable of processing up to 20,000 head per day, followed by fabrication lines that break carcasses into primals, sub-primals, and case-ready retail products.

Hog procurement is coordinated through electronic marketing platforms that connect regional contract finishing operations and independent producers to plant demand schedules. This digital procurement system allows for steady supply flow and scheduling efficiency across multiple facilities.

Processing plants incorporate comprehensive food safety systems, including pathogen intervention technologies, rapid chilling processes, and integrated cold-chain management. USDA inspection is embedded throughout the harvest and fabrication stages to ensure regulatory compliance and product integrity. Finished pork products — from bulk primals to retail-ready packaged cuts — are distributed through coordinated logistics networks serving domestic and export markets.