Dave Bedard Archives | Alberta Farmer Express

Paterson stakes Manitoba site for oat processing plant

By Dave Bedard October 3, 2019

Up to a quarter million tonnes of oats per year could find a new end use as a Winnipeg agrifood company sets up a new oat processing plant near its home base. Privately-held Paterson GlobalFoods (PGF) announced Thursday it will start construction “immediately” on the new plant, on part of its 600-acre site next to […] Read more

General

Federal minister for rural affairs among Tory pledges

By Dave Bedard October 1, 2019

The federal Conservatives’ pre-election pledges for Canada’s rural communities include a plan to appoint a federal minister for rural affairs. Tory leader Andrew Scheer included that promise Sept. 7 in announcing a list of “specific measures he will take as prime minister to help rural communities across the country,” in the lead-up to a federal […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Livestock

Major veal processor launches new brand, non-GMO label

By Dave Bedard September 30, 2019

Quebec veal, lamb and beef processor Delimax-Montpak is set to launch a new consumer brand across Canada featuring what it bills as the only GMO-free milk-fed veal on the market. The company said Tuesday it expected to have the new brand — Fontaine Family, named for the company’s founding family — available via “most major […] Read more

Crops

P+H to buy Louis Dreyfus’ Prairie elevators

By Dave Bedard September 4, 2019

Updated — Commodities and agrifood giant Louis Dreyfus Co. is stepping out of the grain handling business it built in Canada with a deal to sell its Prairie elevator network. Louis Dreyfus (LDC) announced Wednesday it has an agreement in place to sell its 10 elevators across Western Canada to Winnipeg grain company Parrish and […] Read more

Canola, Crops

Appeal court overturns ruling against canola ‘streaming’ contracts

By Dave Bedard August 19, 2019

A southeastern Saskatchewan farmer and canola company Input Capital are going back to court now that a ruling last year, which ripped the company’s “streaming” contracts with the farmer as “unconscionable,” has been overturned on appeal. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, in a ruling issued Friday, set aside a 2018 Court of Queen’s Bench “finding […] Read more

Livestock, Poultry/Eggs

Poultry co-ops Exceldor, Granny’s to merge

By Dave Bedard July 3, 2019

Quebec poultry co-operative Exceldor is expanding its westward reach through a merger deal with Manitoba-based Granny’s Poultry Co-operative. The two co-ops announced the combination Wednesday, noting it’s already been approved by Granny’s producer members in a “unanimous” vote taken in May, and by the federal Competition Bureau in a decision last month. “The main objective […] Read more

Crops, Weather

Neonic-treated canola not an ‘unacceptable risk’ for pollinators

By Dave Bedard April 11, 2019

Already facing federally mandated phase-outs from many major on-farm uses in Canada over risks to aquatic insects, neonicotinoids aren’t expected to pose “unacceptable risks” to pollinators when used on canola seed or hothouse vegetables in the meantime. Health Canada said as much Thursday as it released its final re-evaluation decisions for three neonic pesticides — […] Read more

Hogs, Livestock

Canada to boost airport detector dog corps

By Dave Bedard March 14, 2019

With African swine fever top of mind, the federal government plans to more than double the total number of detector dog teams at Canada’s airports within five years. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, speaking in Montreal Thursday, announced new funding of up to $31 million over five years to add 24 Food, Plant, and Animal Detector […] Read more

Hogs, Livestock

PED not yet done with Alberta

By Dave Bedard February 22, 2019

Just when it appeared Alberta’s on-farm outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) may have been a one-off, the province has confirmed a second case. Officials with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry on Friday announced they’ve confirmed and are investigating a new PED outbreak at a 600-head farrow-to-finish hog operation at an unspecified location. “At this time, […] Read more

Crops, Machinery & Shop, Markets

Viterra offers up 24/7 online grain contracting

By Dave Bedard February 3, 2019

Prairie grain growers doing business with Glencore Agriculture’s Viterra arm can now create their own grain contracts with the company anytime online. In what it describes as the “first and only full range” of online contracting options for farmers in Western Canada, Viterra launched its new system on its myViterra platform in December. A Prairie […] Read more

India looking to import pulses

Brazil gets approval for 13 meatpacking plants for China exports

U.S. grains: Wheat futures rally as U.S. cold snap threatens crops

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