Canadian meat packer Olymel plans to seek other buyers for pork which, until Thursday, was destined for the now-closed Russian market. Olymel, the meat processing arm of Quebec’s Coop Federee, produced frozen pork for export to Russia at its plants at Red Deer, Alta. and Vallee-Jonction, Que. Russia had been the second-largest pork market for […] Read more
Olymel seeking other markets for Russia-bound pork
McCain to shut P.E.I. fries plant
Prince Edward Island’s potato industry can expect a substantial blow this fall as french-fry giant McCain Foods moves to close its processing plant on the island by the end of October. The New Brunswick company, which supplies fries to both the retail grocery and restaurant and foodservice sectors, announced Thursday it will “cease operations” at […] Read more
N.B. farm-plated trucks may haul for other farmers
Farmers in New Brunswick driving farm-plated trucks will soon be able to use those vehicles to haul for farmers other than themselves. Public Safety Minister Bruce Northrup last week announced the province will tweak its Motor Vehicle Act to allow farm-plated vehicles to transport other farmers’ products. Previously, a farmer could only haul his or […] Read more
Complete Canada/EU trade pact text finalized
Trade officials from Canada and the European Union have reached a complete text on their long-haggled free trade deal, the federal government confirmed Tuesday. The complete text allows for translation and final legal review to get underway, International Trade Minister Ed Fast said in a release. Canada’s provincial and territorial governments have now received the […] Read more
Check the bertha map, and if it looks like an alligator, leave it
Reading Time: < 1 minute In his weekly Call of the Land interview, Alberta Agriculture pest specialist Scott Meers says there is a high risk of bertha armyworm infestation in the Lacombe/Stettler area and moderate risk elsewhere. He suggests checking the bertha trap map and zooming in to check the risk in your area. Meers says there are some reports of wheat […] Read more
Three keys to managing root rots in your peas
Reading Time: 2 minutes Managing root rots comes down to “three key pillars,” says Michael Harding, research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. The first is field selection. “If you have a piece of land that has a heavy textured soil and doesn’t drain very well, that may not be a good spot to put peas.” Next is […] Read more
Aug. 1 brings grain grading and other changes
A number of grain grading and variety classification changes take effect Aug. 1, the first day of the new 2014-15 crop year, the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) said in a news release. Producer cars also must now be ordered online, although farmers still have the option of ordering via fax. The new online ordering system […] Read more
Feds fund poultry code updates and hort programs
The federal government has announced funding of over $2 million to the Canadian Animal Health Coalition (CAHC) to develop and update poultry codes and further advance best practices for the care and handling of other farm animals. The government has also announced funding of over $1.4 million for the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre to […] Read more
Fungus in your forage? Try moose drool
York University researchers have found a surprisingly effective way to fight against a certain species of toxic grass fungus — moose saliva. Their paper published this month in Biology Letters shows that moose and reindeer saliva slows growth and reduces toxicity of a fungus in red fescue. “Plants have evolved defence mechanisms to protect themselves, […] Read more
Feds fund chicken vaccine research
Member of Parliament Brad Trost, on behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has $275,000 for Chicken Farmers of Saskatchewan to undertake a research project on disease control. A release says the project aims to identify and characterize new variants of the avian reovirus and determine how they are transmitted. It also aims to evaluate the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
