Canada’s beef demand has been strong during the pandemic. “Unlike previous disease outbreak issues, COVID-19 has not been about food safety or consumer confidence or issues with food products,” Canada Beef president Michael Young said during a recent online town hall. “Beef demand at retail is up 50 to 70 per cent. Consumers have aggressively […] Read more
Beef demand soars as consumers ‘aggressively’ stock up
Surge in sales accompanied by a jump in people looking online for recipes
Canada’s pork sector up to speed, aware of challenges
Processing plants enhancing biosecurity; producers being urged to watch their stress levels
They’re adding protective plexiglass shields, bringing in trailers to separate groups of workers, and boosting communication on biosecurity. It’s all part of an ongoing effort to ensure pork processing plants aren’t disrupted by COVID-19. “I’m very impressed by our packers, and for the workers for coming to work every day and being there and realizing […] Read more
Co-operation and nimbleness the order of the day in cattle sector
COVID-19: ‘Everyone is taking this very seriously and it’s showing,’ says CCA president Bob Lowe
Reading Time: 4 minutes The cattle industry has adopted new measures needed to work under COVID-19 — and so hope endures and business continues. “We’re working on trying to make sure that we keep plants open, keep borders open and keep cattle moving and supplies coming in,” said Rich Smith, executive director of Alberta Beef Producers. For the most […] Read more
Alberta’s goat community is taking care of each other
It’s a small but diverse group but having someone to talk to is key, says goat association vice president
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s goat sector is small but its members are doing what they can to support each other during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Alberta Goat Association has been reaching out to its members to let them know that we’re here and if they have any questions we are here to support them with anything that they […] Read more
Thrust into the spotlight, the farm sector shines during pandemic
Food supply chain does something extraordinary in unprecedented crisis — keeps things running ‘mostly normally’
Reading Time: 4 minutes Never in our lifetimes has the ordinary been so extraordinary. Take, for example, the simple act of delivering a load of grain. The whole business of receiving, grading, and getting the paperwork to the farmer or truck driver is hands-on work, usually done in close quarters. So you not only have to be fastidious about […] Read more
Add COVID-19 to your safety plan for spring seeding
More cleaning and less sharing of equipment are sensible moves these days
Reading Time: 2 minutes Plan how to stay safe while seeding during COVID-19. Start, of course, by minimizing contact, said Jody Wacowich, executive director of AgSafe Alberta. “If you have a large group, maybe have them come at different points during the morning, so they’re not all together,” she said. But having safety conversations, in one form or another, […] Read more
Pitch pays off for startup organic fertilizer maker
Fertilizer made from pea and lentil hulls wins supercluster funding and praise from environment minister
Reading Time: 2 minutes Apitch at an ag innovation forum a year ago has paid dividends for a Vancouver company that wants to make fertilizer out of waste material from pulse processing. Lucent Plant BioSciences and its partners — including pulse trader and processor AGT Foods — is receiving $1.3 million from the protein supercluster to help develop a […] Read more
Alberta Forage Industry Network launching a ‘Kijiji for farmers’
Farming The Web will allow producers to buy and sell hay, livestock and farm equipment
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Alberta Forage Industry Network is creating a new buy-and-sell website for ranchers and farmers. “It’s basically going to be like Kijiji for farmers,” said AFIN director Amber Kenyon. “This will give us a good way to sell our stuff and to be able to buy farm equipment. We’re looking at hay, forage and livestock; […] Read more
Sick employee disrupts slaughter at Harmony Beef
Part of Calgary beef plant shut down after employee who had been off work tested positive for COVID-19
Reading Time: < 1 minute Harmony Beef, a beef processing plant north of Calgary, had to shut part of its operation down March 26 after an employee fell sick. “Alberta Health Services informed us Thursday that an employee who had not been at work for days had a positive test for COVID-19,” company spokesperson Crosbie Cotton said March 27. The […] Read more
Canola producers mark depressing anniversary
One year on, Canada and China seem no closer than ever to resolving canola seed ban
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s been a year since China banned most imports of Canadian canola, and there’s no end in sight. “It’s a very frustrating situation for producers and the industry,” Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada, said in an interview at the Canadian Crops Convention here. “There are some exports going to China (but) […] Read more
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