Livestock

Southwestern Ontario pork processor Great Lakes Specialty Meats of Canada has picked up a $4.5 million federal loan toward planned expansion. The company, based at Mitchell, about 60 km north of London, plans to put the funding from the federal Slaughter Improvement Program toward improved capabilities to make value-added products, using equipment and technology such […] Read more

A southern Manitoba meat processor well known on the Prairies for its farmer sausage has picked up a $310,000 federal loan to add two new smokehouses and upgrade other equipment. Winkler Meats, based at Winkler, Man., will use the loan from the federal Slaughter Improvement Program to add a new boiler and complete a plant […] Read more

A western Manitoba hog producer described as one of the industry’s “champions for free trade” died Wednesday of injuries from a fall at a former aircraft hangar building. Larry Friesen, who owned the farrowing operation Hangar Farms near Rivers, about 40 km northwest of Brandon, was working on the rafters of a hangar building at […] Read more

Legislation has been tabled to require Nova Scotia fur ranchers to have environmental management plans and to get site approval permits before they’re granted operating licenses. The provincial government introduced the legislation Thursday “to help the (province’s) department of agriculture work more closely with fur ranchers so the industry can continue to grow.” The province […] Read more

A Prairie manufacturer of pre-engineered, fabric-covered shelters used for livestock barns and crop storage has folded its tent and is expected to sell off its assets next month. And Calgary-based Cover-All Building Systems, which went into creditor protection March 24, now urges owners of its buildings to bring in engineers to make sure they meet […] Read more

The Alberta-based research program that fully sequenced the genomes of a pair of Canadian bulls now plans to expand its coverage to all livestock. Alberta Innovates – Bio Solutions, the corporation that oversees the province’s publicly-funded ag, biotech and BSE research, has put up $2.25 million and the province’s Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA) another […] Read more

Livestock producers in rural or remote areas of British Columbia will be able to get a separate category of meat inspection license to slaughter their own animals and sell meat directly to local consumers. The two new “Class D” and Class E” license categories, announced Friday in a package of amendments to the province’s Meat […] Read more

A Kitchener-area pork packer with a provincial focus and a federal-grade facility has picked up a seven-figure public loan to finance new equipment and infrastructure. Cambridge Meat Packers, based just east of Cambridge, Ont., will get a $1.6 million repayable investment from the federal Slaughter Improvement Program. The loan will go toward construction of a […] Read more

The British Columbia and federal governments will put up $3.5 million to back an on-farm biosecurity program and to support traceability at the farm and processor levels. B.C. Agriculture Minister Steve Thomson and Vancouver-area MP Andrew Saxton announced the funding Friday in Burnaby, including $2.04 million for the Enterprise Infrastructure Traceability (EIT) program and $1.5 […] Read more

Agriculture ministers for the Quebec and Ontario governments have agreed to adopt a “joint action plan” to improve integration and competitiveness in their agri-food sectors. Quebec’s acting ag minister Robert Dutil and Ontario’s Carol Mitchell on Friday pledged to work toward “mutual recognition of standards involving bilateral trade, and to increased collaboration between Quebec and […] Read more