Prime Minister Justin Trudeau views damage to lobster boats from Hurricane Fiona at Stanley Bridge, P.E.I. on Sept. 27, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Phil Matusiewicz)

Trudeau tours storm-hit Atlantic Canada as power outages persist

Flooding may hit P.E.I. potato crops

Port aux Basques, N.L. | Reuters — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday started a tour of Atlantic Canada, where thousands were still without power after record-setting storm Fiona ravaged the country’s east coast, tossing homes into the sea and killing at least three people. Fiona recorded the lowest barometric pressure ever for a storm […] Read more

A container terminal at the Port of Vancouver. (FangXiaNuo/E+/Canada)

U.K. is asked to reconsider ag tariff in Trans-Pacific talks

Tokyo | Reuters — Japan, Australia and other members of a trans-Pacific trade pact have asked Britain to reconsider tariff conditions in its entry negotiation talks, Jiji news reported on Monday. Britain has opposed expanding the target of tariff-free items, particularly among agricultural products, to near 100 per cent as set by the Comprehensive and […] Read more


RCMP officers near a building destroyed by Hurricane Fiona at Port aux Basques, N.L. on Sept. 26, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/John Morris)

Fiona batters Eastern Canada’s farms, fishery

'You'll hear me swearing in Saskatchewan'

Winnipeg | Reuters — Powerful storm Fiona slammed into Canada’s eastern fishing and farm industries over the weekend, smashing wharves, food processing plants and barns that will take months to repair. One of the worst storms Canada has ever faced left more than one-third of customers in Nova Scotia without power, swept homes into the […] Read more

Daniel Wuergler, co-owner of the Gallipool Frasses farm, walks among 18,000 Lohmann Classic laying hens at Les Montets, about 45 km northeast of Lausanne, on Sept. 16, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

Swiss reject initiative to ban factory farming

Voters back narrowly back rise in women's retirement age to 65

Geneva | Reuters — Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a proposal to ban factory farming in a referendum on whether the wealthy country’s strict animal welfare laws need to be tightened yet further. The government’s VoteInfo App showed a provisional result of 62.86 per cent of votes against the proposal, put to a referendum under […] Read more


Ontario dairy producer Korb Whale, pictured with his two daughters, says the sector already has established practices and technology that can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent.

Dairy Farmers of Canada embraces goal of achieving net zero

Producers who back the ambitious goal say it’s both attainable and a good business move

Reading Time: 4 minutes Dairy Farmers of Canada has set a target for the sector to be net zero by 2050 — and is accompanying the pledge with a publicity blitz on billboards, radio, YouTube, TikTok and the internet. But how it will reach that ambitious emissions-reduction goal is still to be worked out. “We said that net zero […] Read more

Surgery on a horse at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s equine veterinary medical centre in Saskatoon. (WCVM video screengrab via YouTube)

Saskatchewan’s livestock vet loan plan expanded to bigger centres

Urban vet clinics' work with rural producers noted

Saskatchewan’s program to forgive provincial student loans for veterinarians and vet techs serving livestock producers at rural clinics will now also cover those doing the same work out of bigger communities. The province’s Loan Forgiveness for Veterinarians and Veterinary Technologists program was first announced in April last year, offering forgiveness of 20 per cent of […] Read more


Fencing bale yards can help reduce cattle's exposure to leptospirosis from wildlife.

Leptospirosis and reproductive losses in beef cattle

While clinical cases are not common in Western Canada, detection of lepto titres in AI bulls can be a problem

Reading Time: 2 minutes Leptospirosis is rare in Western Canada. The three large pharma companies have leptospirosis vaccines, usually in combination with the standard five-way viral vaccines. They do not sell many doses, which indicates low frequency. In veterinary practice, we suspect it when we see bloody diarrhea or a high open rate or abortions. Leptospirosis titres are often […] Read more

On dairy farms, methane from cattle is a big part of their carbon footprint, but researchers say diet can control emissions at least somewhat.

Dairy’s gap in the map toward net zero

Canadian dairy has a carbon emissions goal but is still hammering out the way to get there

Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – The Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) has a goal to reach net zero on carbon emissions but admits the plan to get there doesn’t exist. Not yet, at least. “It kind of reminds me of JFK saying, ‘By 1969, we’ll have a man on the moon’ and they hadn’t invented rockets yet,” […] Read more


File photo of soy-based milk alternatives. (SherSor/iStock/Getty Images)

Lactalis to shift from milk to near-milk at Sudbury

Facility to halt fluid milk processing, switch to plant-based product lines

The processor of the Beatrice and Lactantia milk brands plans to put its fluid milk processing plant in northern Ontario over to plant-based dairy substitutes. The Canadian arm of France’s Lactalis said Wednesday it will stop fluid milk processing and packaging at its plant at Sudbury effective Sept. 30 and convert that plant to a […] Read more

(SwissChalet.com)

Fairfax proposes takeover of Recipe dining group

Chains include The Keg, Swiss Chalet, Harvey's

Reuters — Recipe Unlimited Corp. said on Tuesday shareholder and investment firm Fairfax Financial Holdings has proposed to take the Canadian restaurant operator private for $1.23 billion, sending its shares up nearly 50 per cent. The offer price marks a premium of more than 53 per cent to Recipe’s last close. The shares have fallen […] Read more