Livestock

Ongoing cash losses with no end in sight at Atlantic Beef Products have led the Prince Edward Island government to seek private-sector buyers, CBC reported Thursday. The broadcaster said the packing plant, which has lost money since it opened in late 2004, is now losing cash at the rate of $200,000 to $300,000 a month, […] Read more

China and the Philippines have eased export market pressure on Canadian pork by clarifying that their recent bans are limited to hogs and pork from Alberta, the Reuters news agency reported Wednesday. The two countries were among about a dozen that have put restrictions in place since a human influenza strain, H1N1, was found to […] Read more

The Alberta government has named the second of seven regional councils meant to advise the province on its development of a regional land-use plan, this one for a region that includes about half the province’s population. The new South Saskatchewan Regional Advisory Council (RAC), named in a release Wednesday, is meant to look at key […] Read more

So far as it can be measured with the slim data available, damage to Ontario farmers’ crops and livestock caused by wildlife has risen substantially in the last 10 years, a new study warns. The costs of such damages rose between 1998 and a later study period from 2005 through 2007, by almost 20 per […] Read more

Quebec’s pork producers and nearly all slaughter plants handling Quebec hogs have signed on to end their previous auction system in a new marketing agreement following 18 months of talks. “This is a great moment for us,” said Jean-Guy Vincent, president of the Federation des producteurs de porcs du Quebec (FPPQ), in a release Tuesday. […] Read more

The Alberta government sees farmers gaining from joint efforts on transportation infrastructure, rural development and “collaborative advocacy” on ag and energy issues through a new U.S. interstate trade group. The province on Tuesday officially became a member of the Ports-to-Plains Alliance, an economic development coalition which includes nine U.S. states and aims to smooth trade […] Read more

A forum that connected residents of remote northern Manitoba communities with the grocers who supply their food has led to new proposals to shore up northern food security. The Northern Grocers Forums, held in March in Thompson and The Pas, Man., were co-ordinated by the Manitoba Food Charter (MFC) and Bayline Regional Roundtable, to seek […] Read more

A coalition of farm and environmental groups wants Quebec’s government to pick up the pace of ag reform in the province and follow the recommendations of its own commission on the future of farming in the province. The Coalition SOS-Pronovost, members of which include the Coalition pour un Quebec des regions, the provincial consumers’ union, […] Read more

The Ontario government is now accepting applications from farmers and processors looking to build up their capacities for food safety and traceability. The federal and provincial governments on Monday pledged $25.5 million over four years for the province’s Food Safety and Traceability Initiative (FSTI) through the “Best Practices” suite of the Growing Forward ag policy […] Read more