Federal competition watchdogs have cleared the path for grain handling equipment maker Ag Growth International to close its deal for bin manufacturer Westeel. AGI announced it had completed its deal to buy its fellow Winnipeg-based manufacturing firm for $221.5 million on Wednesday — after announcing the Competition Bureau of Canada would allow the deal on which […] Read more
Regulators clear path for Westeel takeover
WTO panel rejects final U.S. appeal on COOL
Canada is set to ask the World Trade Organization to allow a long list of retaliatory tariffs against U.S. agrifoods and other goods, after a WTO panel shot down Washington’s final defense of its country-of-origin labelling (COOL) law on meat. The WTO Appellate Body on Monday released its report on the U.S. government’s appeal of […] Read more
Canola program stacks genes against new clubroot
Rather than send out a canola variety with a single source of resistance against clubroot — especially the disease’s most recent pathotype — Agrium’s CPS division has stacked several sources into the new hybrids it’s sending for testing this summer. Crop Production Services on Monday announced its “next generation” of Argentine canola hybrids shows “high […] Read more
Colombia clears paper trail for more Canadian wheat
“Continuous engagement” has led to a lighter regulatory load on Canadian wheat bound for Colombia, already Canada’s seventh-biggest wheat export market. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and trade group Cereals Canada on Tuesday announced Colombia has eased phytosanitary import rules for Canadian wheat, “effectively putting Canada on a level playing field with other exporting countries.” Colombia’s […] Read more
Bunge, Saudi Arabia to buy control of CWB
Agribusiness giant Bunge and the Saudi Arabian government’s ag investment arm are the joint “successful acquirer” of the former Canadian Wheat Board. Bunge Canada and SALIC Canada, an arm of the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Co., on Wednesday announced their new Winnipeg-based joint venture, G3 Global Grain Group, will pay $250 million to CWB […] Read more
Ont. turkey farm’s avian flu confirmed as H5N2
A quarantined southwestern Ontario turkey farm has been confirmed with the same strain of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian flu seen on farms in British Columbia and several U.S. states. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Wednesday that samples tested at its National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnipeg have confirmed the virus’ subtype and […] Read more
Olymel hog plant workers hit the bricks in Quebec
Unionized workers at Olymel’s hog slaughter and processing plant in Quebec’s Beauce region have walked off the job and rejected the meat company’s “final” contract offer. Olymel’s corporate communications spokesman Richard Vigneault confirmed the workers, represented by CSN (Confederation des syndicats nationaux), went on strike Wednesday evening. CSN, in a release Thursday, said 841 of […] Read more
China to block Canadian beef as BSE probe continues
China has set up “temporary trade restrictions” on Canadian beef and beef products in the wake of Canada’s first case of BSE in a domestic cow since 2011, federal officials report. Born in 2009 and confirmed with BSE Feb. 11, the latest case — Canada’s 19th since its first such finding in 2003 — has […] Read more
BSE case born after tightened feed ban imposed
The beef cow that became Canada’s 19th case of BSE is now confirmed as Canada’s first-ever case to be born after tighter limits were imposed on use of cattle parts in livestock feed. Without specifying a home municipality, spokesmen for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said on a conference call Wednesday that Case 19 […] Read more
Officials chasing down unknowns in new BSE case
The cow confirmed Thursday as Canada’s 19th domestic case of BSE, and just its third case in the past five years, is still somewhat of a stranger to federal officials. Representatives with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), on a conference call Friday, said they haven’t yet confirmed the cow’s age, its past travels or […] Read more
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