Reuters — Tim Hortons parent Restaurant Brands International said Monday it will buy sandwich chain Firehouse Subs for US$1 billion, at a time when its popular brands are struggling due to increased competition from rivals launching new menu items. Analysts have said fried chicken sandwich pioneer Popeyes, owned by RBI, has been hurt by McDonald’s […] Read more
Tim Hortons parent to buy Firehouse Subs as other brands drag
Chain's comparable year-to-date sales up 20 per cent against pre-pandemic levels
B.C. calling halt to mink farming
Live mink on farms to be banned in 2023
British Columbia’s remaining mink farmers are “devastated” by the province’s proposal to phase out their industry over risks related to COVID-19. The province announced Friday it’s starting the process toward a permanent ban on mink farming — beginning with a ban on mink breeding, followed by a ban on live mink on farms by April […] Read more
EU’s bird flu outbreaks reach Poland
Country's outbreaks hit farms totalling 650,000 birds
Paris | Reuters — Poland has reported several outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu at poultry farms with flocks totalling nearly 650,000 birds, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said on Monday. Poland is the European Union’s largest poultry producer. Five outbreaks, of which four were at fattening turkey farms and one at […] Read more
Chronic wasting disease discovered in Manitoba
The province says there’s no evidence the first case of chronic wasting disease discovered in Manitoba is in any way linked to nearby farmed elk operations. In a media release announcing the case, officials said it was found near Lake of the Prairies as part of the province’s wildlife health surveillance program. It was in […] Read more
China to make protein for livestock from carbon monoxide
Beijing | Reuters – Chinese researchers say they have found a way to produce an animal feed protein from carbon monoxide in what is being hailed as a breakthrough that could help reduce the country’s reliance on huge volumes of imported soybeans. China is by far the world’s top buyer of soybeans, bringing in around […] Read more
Ontario moves to phase out wild boar farming
Province, feds fund swine fever defense plans
Hoping to improve its odds against African swine fever ever getting a toehold in Canada’s hog herds, Ontario plans to regulate Eurasian wild boar as an invasive species starting in the new year. To that end, the province is making funding available to farmers who actively breed and raise wild boar to “shift to other […] Read more
New campaign will stand up for lowly ditches and hidden rights-of-way
These little-noticed strips of land provide wildlife habitat along with several environmental benefits
Reading Time: 2 minutes A ditch may not look like much — but for many game birds it’s a little strip of paradise in an otherwise hostile world. However, producers often decide to farm ditches and rights-of-way — a practice known as ‘trespass farming.’ But a conservation group called Pheasants Forever Calgary is hoping to change attitudes about this […] Read more
New vet school dean brings a lot of expertise — and an entourage
Reading Time: 4 minutes The new dean of the University of Calgary’s vet school arrived with a lot of new ideas — and two dogs, an Icelandic horse, a donkey, a pony, four children and one husband. “They are family members,” Renate Weller said of the four-legged emigrés. “We have had the donkey and his two companion ponies for […] Read more
Dispose of old livestock medications safely
Reading Time: < 1 minute During the week of Oct. 25-29, producers can dispose of obsolete livestock, equine and poultry medications safely and securely at 20 locations in the southern half of Alberta. However, the drop-off at each location is for one day only (from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) so producers should check the map at the ‘Unwanted agricultural […] Read more
Schoepp: Report shines a light on the threat of chronic wasting disease
The spread of CWD needs to be halted but there’s no simple answer for addressing the problem
Reading Time: 3 minutes [UPDATED: Oct. 20, 2021] The increase in the cases of chronic wasting disease in Alberta and Saskatchewan has caught the attention of policy advisors in Ottawa. A report from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute highlighted an extreme urgency to prevent any further spread of the disease and the organization has called for a close of […] Read more
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