Alberta cattle producers who temporarily move animals to pastures in Saskatchewan or British Columbia this spring or summer won’t need to pay inspection fees on the way out. The provincial agriculture and rural development department (AARD) said Wednesday it will provide a $25,000 grant this year to Livestock Identification Services (LIS) to cover the costs […] Read more
Alta. to cover inspections for cross-border grazing
Editors’ Picks: USDA scraps national animal ID
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has officially dumped its plans for a national animal identification system (NAIS) more than five years and over US$120 million in the making. U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack on Friday announced a “new framework” for animal traceability, to be administered instead by individual states and Tribal Nations, and to apply […] Read more
Taiwan law a setback for Canadian beef access
Efforts to open Taiwan’s ports to a wider range of Canadian beef have hit a substantial snag, as that country’s legislature moves to impose new bans of beef from countries known to have BSE. The Taiwanese legislature announced Tuesday morning that it will amend that country’s Food Sanitation Act to ban imports of all ground […] Read more
Editors’ Picks: Agco plans “reduction” of brands
A farm equipment giant built on accumulation of product lines worldwide has announced a new corporate strategy expected to lead to “reduction” of many of the company’s brands. In a release Friday, the North American Equipment Dealers Association said it was alerted last week to “major brand changes” within Agco, including the phase-out of the […] Read more
Editors’ Picks: U.S. house cat catches H1N1
A 13-year-old indoor cat in Iowa is confirmed to have had and recovered from pandemic H1N1 influenza, marking another species crossover for the virus. “Two of the three members of the family that owns the pet had suffered from influenza-like illness before the cat became ill,” veterinarian Dr. Ann Garvey of the Iowa Department of […] Read more
Australia’s new BSE policy a strong signal: CCA
A major beef exporting nation, Australia has never bought much Canadian beef, but its decision to allow beef from countries with “controlled risk” status for BSE may be symbolically important for Canada. Australia’s agriculture and health ministries announced Tuesday that the country will “adjust” its food import policies for beef and beef products starting March […] Read more
Editors’ Picks: H1N1 hits first U.S. hog
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed the country’s first case of pandemic H1N1 influenza in a hog, following tests on samples collected at the Minnesota State Fair this summer. Samples collected at the fair, held Aug. 27 to Sept. 7 in St. Paul, were part of a University of Iowa and University of Minnesota […] Read more
XL’s Moose Jaw workers reject another offer
Locked-out workers at XL Foods’ beef packing plant at Moose Jaw, Sask. have voted to reject their Alberta parent company’s latest offer and keep walking the line. The workers, who have been without a contract since the end of January, came back from a five-month shutdown last month to a company-imposed lockout and then rejected […] Read more
Clock ticking on COOL challenge, Easter warns
The federal Liberals’ agriculture critic is calling for a hard timeline on the federal government’s plan to challenge the U.S. government’s mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL). Prince Edward Island MP Wayne Easter noted in the House of Commons Wednesday that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz had announced the government’s plans to challenge COOL at the World Trade […] Read more
XL Foods, locked-out Sask. workers keep talking
Despite having rejected a contract offer from XL Foods and having been locked out for the foreseeable future, unionized workers at the company’s Moose Jaw, Sask. beef plant plan to keep negotiating. The workers, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW Canada) Local 1400, voted down XL’s offer at a meeting Sunday night […] Read more