(Olymel.com)

Olymel pork plant to get $11 million in upgrades

Pork and poultry packer Olymel has budgeted $11 million in expansions and new equipment for a Quebec sausage processing plant to handle hams and other smoked meats and boost its output by about 50 per cent. The company, part of agrifood and ag retail co-operative La Coop federee, announced Thursday that upgrades are expected to […] Read more

Shoal Lake Wild Rice, whose processing facility just east of Winnipeg is shown here in 2014, is one of several firms exporting Canadian-grown wild rice to buyers worldwide. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Shannon VanRaes)

Systems set to ship Canadian wild rice to China

Canadian wild rice producers, warehousers and processors interested in exporting to China now have a certification system in place to do so, clearing the way for Chinese market access. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday released details of a new certification program in which the agency can approve Canadian wild rice processing, warehousing and […] Read more


Taste-testing during a Canadian Beef Advantage Seminar in Shanghai in 2013. (Canada Beef via YouTube)

China now taking Canadian bone-in beef

China’s premier has announced the country will accept bone-in Canadian beef from cattle under 30 months of age (UTMs) starting today, according to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. The expanded access is expected to add another $10 million per year in exports to China in the short term, the CCA said, given that Canada’s beef cattle […] Read more



(Dave Bedard photo)

Richardson to expand Prairie retail space

Winnipeg grain firm Richardson International plans to expand its crop input retail business across the Prairies, starting in central and western Saskatchewan with plans for two new stores and a rebuilt store. The company said Monday it will replace its crop input facility at Wakaw, about 90 km northeast of Saskatoon, and build new at […] Read more

Canada Beef wants to hear from cattle producers

Canada Beef wants to hear from cattle producers

Survey closes Oct. 30

Reading Time: < 1 minute Canada Beef is looking for stories from producers that it can use in marketing beef. The organization has created an online survey (via Survey Monkey) that can be found here. “This is your chance to explain how you are committed to do the best you can do to bring quality Canadian beef to the consumer’s […] Read more



(Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

PED reappears in southeastern Manitoba

Manitoba has logged its first on-farm case of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) in over three months, in a sow barn in the province’s livestock-intensive southeast. Southeastern Manitoba has been home to all of the province’s nine on-farm outbreaks of PED since the virus first appeared there in February 2014. In the latest case, the provincial […] Read more


Young Speakers registration now open

Deadline for entrants is Sept. 30

Reading Time: < 1 minute The deadline for entering the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture competition is Sept. 30, and the organization has a new website making it easier to register. The topics for 2016 are: What is the impact of public opinion on Canadian farmers? How would you explain a GMO to a non-farmer? What does the next generation […] Read more