The world’s biggest burger chain has aimed to reassure Canadian beef producers that its trial run of a plant-based burger doesn’t mark a retreat from the company’s primary protein. McDonald’s CEO John Betts, in a statement issued Friday directly to “our valued partners in the beef industry,” said he wants beef producers “to hear from […] Read more
McDonald’s reiterates beef support during Beyond Meat test-drive
Alberta harvest progress behind in all regions
Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of September 23
Reading Time: 5 minutes Accumulated precipitation in September has been varied across the province, from less than 20 mm in the eastern parts of the North West Region, western parts of the North East Region and central parts of the Peace Region, to upward of 30 mm in most areas in the Southern and Central Regions, and up to […] Read more
Ontario to host global test for McDonald’s pulseburger
The biggest quick-service dining chain on the planet is set to use southwestern Ontario as the global test market for its first foray into Beyond Meat. McDonald’s announced Thursday it will run a 12-week test for a plant-based burger it calls the “P.L.T.” exclusively at 28 restaurants in the region starting Monday. “This test allows […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Rains delay large Manitoba bean harvest
MarketsFarm — Manitoba farmers seeded their largest dry edible bean crop in more than a decade this spring, but adverse conditions are causing delays getting it off the fields. “Last week we had some substantial moisture in the Red River Valley,” pulse specialist Dennis Lange of Manitoba Agriculture said, noting the system brought up to […] Read more
Harvest restarts in Alberta, late progress seen in all regions
Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of September 17
Reading Time: 5 minutes Harvest operations have resumed in most parts of the province, thanks to warmer and windy conditions. However, progress has been slow, due to some shower activities bringing from less than one mm of rain in the eastern and southern parts of the province to upwards of 30 mm in some areas in the Peace Region. […] Read more
Tim Hortons retreats from Beyond
Tim Hortons is dialing back its Beyond Meat marketing in Canada and will keep the plant-based meat substitute on its sandwich menus in Ontario and British Columbia alone. The coffee-and-donut chain, an arm of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International and Canada’s biggest fast-food chain by number of outlets, first test-marketed breakfast sandwiches with the U.S. company’s […] Read more
Food, farming not expected to be big election issues
Canadians don’t think that food and agriculture will be a significant issue in the current federal election. A survey conducted Sept. 9 and released Tuesday by Angus Reid Global with the support of Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab shows 31 per cent of Canadians believe food and agriculture will be a prime electoral issue during […] Read more
Wet weather slows harvest progress across Alberta
Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of September 10
Reading Time: 5 minutes Wet weather late last week has slowed down harvesting in most areas across the province and particularly in the North East and North West Regions. Precipitation has been variable, ranging from less than 5 mm in some parts of the Peace Region, to 30-40 mm in the North East and more than 40 mm in […] Read more
Frost strikes in numerous spots in Manitoba
MarketsFarm — Numerous areas throughout the growing areas of Manitoba experienced frost, according to the province’s crop report for the week ended Monday. The coldest locations were Sprague in the eastern region, Narcisse in the Interlake and Lake Audy in the southwest, which experienced temperatures of -2 C on Sept. 8. Many other areas saw […] Read more
Big Ag wants a cut of booming fake-meat market
Winnipeg/Chicago | Reuters — Bunge, one the world’s biggest grain traders, recently disclosed the 1.6 per cent stake it had purchased in the fast-growing fake-meat startup Beyond Meat. The play looked smart after the stock surged more than 250 per cent since the faux burger and sausage maker’s initial public offering in May. Indeed, Beyond […] Read more