The federal and Manitoba provincial governments have announced more than $1.7 million in funding for a Manitoba value-chain initiative. Value chains enable farmers to develop and expand market opportunities and create stronger links between farmers, processors and retailers, said Gerry Ritz, federal agriculture minister, in a prepared release. The federal portion of the funding is […] Read more
Man. gets value chain funding
Pork council upset by EU subsidies
The Canadian Pork Council (CPC) is crying foul over a European Union decision to introduce export refunds on pork and pork products. The export subsidy rate can reach as much as C75 cents per kilogram and are applicable for pork shipped to all export destinations, the CPC says. “The EU has chosen a method of […] Read more
N.S. offers new award for ag innovation
Nova Scotia’s provincial government has up to $10,000 for one farmer who proposes a new way to handle business challenges on his or her farm. The province’s new Agri-Food Innovation Award, funded through the “renewal” pillar of the federal-provincial Agricultural Policy Framework (APF), is to go toward the planning and development process of the winning […] Read more
Quebec dials back fertilizer regulations
The Quebec government has slightly loosened its rules banning the spreading of all materials containing dead ruminants as fertilizer. Environment Minister Line Beauchamp announced on Wednesday that the province has amended its farm regulations to take into account the new federal government controls on specified risk materials (or SRMs, the tissues known to harbour the […] Read more
Ag trends point to “new era” of opportunity: TD
Canada’s farmers are “well-positioned” to take advantage of emerging tastes and trends in the global market, though success will depend at least partly on effective public policy, according to a report Wednesday by the economics wing of TD Bank Financial Group. The report by Derek Burleton of TD Economics admits that the half-decade since 2002 […] Read more
Meat testing at U.S. border back to normal
The regime for U.S. government inpsections on imports of Canadian meat will be back to normal Wednesday after audits found no safety risk to the U.S. meat-eating public, U.S. officials announced Tuesday. In a letter to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) meat programs division, dated Tuesday, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) official Dr. William […] Read more
Documentation sought for rare Newfoundland Ponies
The Newfoundland Pony Society is looking to compile an inventory of historical records for the province’s only heritage animal. The group, which held its annual meeting Sunday, got $6,000 in provincial funding this year to get the Newfoundland Pony inventory project off the ground, the Newfoundland and Labrador government noted in a release. Provincial Culture […] Read more
Maltsters’ support puts CWB opponents on offensive
Opponents of the Canadian Wheat Board’s single marketing desk for Prairie barley got support Tuesday from four major malting companies that now urge Ottawa to press ahead with “marketing choice.” The four, under the banner of the Malting Industry Association of Canada, called Tuesday for “the immediate introduction of legislation to allow for the complete […] Read more
Viterra names new VP of HR
A consultant who helped design the merger process for the operations of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Agricore United has been named as the merged company’s new human resources VP. The official title for Steven Berger, who helped develop the integration plan while working for management consulting firm Accenture, will be senior vice-president of human resources […] Read more
Koch named Sask. deputy ag minister
Alanna Koch, head of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, is Saskatchewan’s new top agriculture bureaucrat. The province’s new Saskatchewan Party government, which ousted the New Democrats in the Nov. 7 election, announced Koch’s appointment as deputy minister of agriculture on Tuesday as part of a list of orders-in-council naming new deputies. New chiefs of staff […] Read more
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