Livestock

Quebec’s provincial ag department and the farmers’ direct-seeding group Action semis direct have set up a certification program tying livestock and eggs to direct-seeded feed crops. The group will expand its Terre vivante program to certify grain-fed veal, young pigeon and table eggs as having been produced using grain produced under zero-tillage, in which crops […] Read more

British Columbia will put $10 million from its federal/provincial Growing Forward funds into continuing its Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) programming. The province and federal government announced the new funding Thursday in Kelowna to cover both the EFP and the Beneficial Management Practice (BMP) programs, to flow from B.C.’s $78 million share of the five-year Growing […] Read more

An agreement that neatly organized control of Maple Leaf Foods will end next June, one of Maple Leaf’s two biggest shareholders says. Maple Leaf Foods announced in its second-quarter results Wednesday that the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board has served notice to McCain Capital Corp. that the Teachers will terminate an agreement the two shareholders […] Read more

An agreement that neatly organized control of Maple Leaf Foods will end next June, one of Maple Leaf’s two biggest shareholders says. Maple Leaf Foods announced in its second-quarter results Wednesday that the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board has served notice to McCain Capital Corp. that the Teachers will terminate an agreement the two shareholders […] Read more

“Steady improvement” in Maple Leaf Foods’ prepared meats business, following last year’s major product recalls, is among the factors putting the company’s second quarter (Q2) in the black. The Toronto-based food manufacturing giant on Wednesday posted net profit of $4.9 million on sales of $1.32 billion in its fiscal quarter ending June 30, up from […] Read more

An isolated case of the pandemic strain of H1N1 influenza has been confirmed in a Quebec hog herd that has since “completely recovered.” The provincial agriculture, food and fisheries ministry (MAPAQ) said in a release Tuesday that the strain had been identified Friday at the labs of the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in […] Read more

Ernie Hardeman, the Ontario Tories’ agriculture and food critic, will now handle rural affairs as part of his critic portfolio. The Tories’ new leader, Tim Hudak, announced the move when introducing his new shadow cabinet Monday. As rural affairs critic, Hardeman replaces Perth-area MPP Randy Hillier, who was named Monday as the opposition critic for […] Read more

Claims by a major U.S. hog farmers’ group that the Canadian Pork Council’s proposal for industry transition funds would have a “lethal impact” on U.S. producers is particularly galling for the CPC’s chair. Jurgen Preugschas, who raises breeding stock and finishes hogs at Mayerthorpe, Alta., retorted in a release last week to the National Pork […] Read more

Any Canadian hog herds that come down with the pandemic strain of H1N1 won’t face the same quarantines as one of the few herds in the world known to have caught the virus. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Friday its policy on hogs with H1N1 will be based on previous recommendations of the […] Read more

Canada’s lamb producers are missing out on up to $42 million in farm gate sales and $250 million at retail, thanks to domestic supply shortfalls and “ineffective management” of the lamb value chain, according to a new study out of Guelph. The study, released Wednesday by the Value Chain Management Centre, a division of the […] Read more