Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta is back in the federal-provincial agreement for allocating broiler chicken quota after exiting it in 2013. “I’m thinking they should hire us for NAFTA now,” Alberta Chicken Producers’ chair Erna Ference said with a laugh. “This was a huge effort. We started back in 2008 with this, and it took a lot of producers […] Read more
Alberta rejoins the flock with new national chicken quota deal
A decade-old dispute over quota allocation is finally settled, and producers are already expanding facilities
Olymel plugs over $52M into poultry processing
The meat packing and processing arm of Quebec’s biggest agrifood co-operative has earmarked over $52 million for poultry plant upgrades and construction in Ontario and Quebec. La Coop federee’s Olymel division in the past week has announced over $30 million for plant upgrades and the purchase of a second facility at Brampton, Ont., $14 million […] Read more
Ag and food exports: We’re good but we can do better
Agriculture is a Canadian success story but taking it to the next level requires smart and sizable investments, says economist
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sticking to the status quo isn’t good enough to propel Canada into the uppermost ranks of global agricultural exporters. “Over the past year, there’s been quite a bit of optimism around food and agriculture. It’s been identified as one of the main sectors to grow in this country,” said J.P. Gervais, chief agricultural economist for […] Read more
The numbers — and the potential — are big for agri-food exports
Reading Time: 2 minutes There were few surprises in Farm Credit Canada’s annual ranking of Canadian agriculture and agri-food exports. We remain the world’s fifth-largest agricultural commodity exporter for the sixth straight year, and have also held steady as the No. 11 exporter of manufactured food products. But “potential” abounds, says FCC’s chief agricultural economist J.P. Gervais. “There are […] Read more
Canada, Mexico to rebuff U.S. over NAFTA goals
Mexico City | Reuters — Canada and Mexico will rebuff the United States over its demand for tougher NAFTA automotive content rules, top officials said on Monday as negotiations to renew the treaty bogged down with only a few months to go. U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to quit NAFTA, which has reshaped the […] Read more
Trade talks a dicey situation, Coyne says
Winnipeg | CNS Canada — With Canada in the midst of negotiations for two different trade agreements, the North American Free Trade Agreement and Trans-Pacific Partnership, trade concerns are getting muddled, according to Andrew Coyne. “We need to be conscious of diversifying our trade interests beyond just North America. It would be extremely foolish that […] Read more
Agriculture contributed C$111.9 billion to Canada’s GDP in 2016
Winnipeg | CNS – A new report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada released Friday has pegged agriculture as contributing C$111.9 billion to Canada’s GDP in 2016, which accounted 6.7 per cent of the country’s total GDP. The annual report entitled An Overview of the Canadian Agriculture and AgriFood System, provides a summary of the economic […] Read more
Big four topics remain constant in latest Real Dirt on Farming
The latest edition of the Real Dirt on Farming is out, and it continues to be a printed copy success story in a digital world. There are more than three million copies of the agriculture information resource in print and the demand doesn’t appear to be dropping. Farm & Food Care Ontario creates the publication […] Read more
Veterinarian school funding decision creates controversy
School’s dean says it makes sense to consolidate in Calgary but association says it’s capping training in the midst of a vet shortage
Reading Time: 3 minutes The dean of the province’s vet school is defending the NDP government’s decision to consolidate veterinarian education in Alberta — but the association representing the profession says it’s short sighted. The province announced last month it will be pulling its $8 million in funding from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon to expand […] Read more
Stop using antibiotics in healthy animals, WHO urges farmers
London | Reuters – The World Health Organization urged farmers on Tuesday to stop using antibiotics to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals because the practice fuels dangerous drug-resistant superbug infections in people. Describing a lack of effective antibiotics for humans as “a security threat” on a par with “a sudden and deadly […] Read more