Livestock

Just nine properties in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley remain quarantined out of 45 that saw restrictions imposed following the appearance of avian influenza on two Abbotsford-area poultry farms. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced Thursday it had removed restrictions on 22 farms that had completed a 21-day surveillance and testing period. The testing period followed […] Read more

The federal government’s cull breeding swine program will now include a wider window of culling, thus allowing some producers to qualify for new or additional payments. Originally, under the $50 million program, culls of breeding swine between Nov. 1, 2007 and Nov. 30, 2008 had qualified for per-head payments to eligible hog producers. However, Agriculture […] Read more

Fully funding its share of federal/provincial business risk management programs such as AgriStability and AgriInvest is expected to cost Saskatchewan an additional $135 million in 2009-10. The provincial government on Wednesday released its 2009-10 budget, which pledges a total agriculture budget of $483.4 million, up 58 per cent ($177.5 million) from 2008-9, as well as […] Read more

Owners of farmland in Alberta would have one avenue to appeal their property assessments under a new system proposed by the province this week. The provincial government on Monday introduced the Municipal Government Amendment Act, which the province said will restructure Alberta’s assessment review boards and clarify their roles. “Feedback during consultations showed the current […] Read more

Exporters of Canadian foods subject to the U.S. government’s new final rule on country-of-origin labelling (COOL) will want to keep data on its effects, the federal ag minister recommends. Coming out of a meeting Friday with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said the final rule on COOL, which took effect Monday, […] Read more

The death of a Quebec man in January due to listeriosis from an unknown source has been added to the official toll of deaths from last summer’s listeria outbreak. The Public Health Agency of Canada on Friday “determined that this case meets the criteria established for last year’s outbreak to be considered a confirmed case.” […] Read more

Quebec pork processor Les Aliments Lucyporc has become Canada’s first integrated pork packer to earn registration and approval to export pork products to the European Union. According to the Canadian Pork Council in a release Monday, this approval opens “new market opportunities” for the company, based at Yamachiche, about 25 km west of Trois-Rivieres. But […] Read more

The Maritime provinces’ first organic dairy processor is also its last, for now, as dairy firm Amalgamated Dairies Ltd. (ADL) has opted to stop making Prince Edward Island organic cheese, CBC reported Monday. ADL and Purity Dairy’s plans to get local P.E.I. organic cheese on store shelves, in co-operation with that province’s Organic Dairy Club, […] Read more