Livestock

Farmers and other landowners on Prince Edward Island can’t be held liable for other people’s mishaps on their property with snowmobiles or other off-road vehicles. The province has amended its Off-Highway Vehicle Act to absolve landowners of liability in accidents involving snowmobilers and ATV drivers, regardless of whether the landowner has granted access to the […] Read more

The British Columbia government will endow a new cattle industry chair at Thompson Rivers University, with an eye on new ideas for environmentally and economically sustainable cattle production. John Church, previously a special projects manager in Edmonton with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, was appointed Wednesday as the B.C. Regional Innovation Chair in cattle industry […] Read more

Georges Mamelonet, the Liberal MNA for Gaspe, has been named parliamentary assistant to Laurent Lessard, Quebec’s minister of agriculture, fisheries and food. Premier Jean Charest named Mamelonet to the post in a release Thursday, along with parliamentary assistants for 17 other cabinet ministers, and filled other posts within the Liberal government caucus. Mamelonet is new […] Read more

A draft of a new “recommended code of practice” for care and handling of dairy cattle is open for public comment until mid-February. Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) announced in a release Wednesday that it has completed the work it began in 2006 to revise its 1990 Dairy Code of Practice, using the National Farm […] Read more

The Ontario government will put up over $850,000 for 15 “grassroots” marketing projects promoting locally-grown food. “We are bringing together local food networks including producers, processors, retailers and individuals dedicated to selling the fresh foods that are grown and made right here in Ontario,” Agriculture Minister Leona Dombrowsky said in a release Wednesday. The projects […] Read more

Alberta farmer co-operative UFA on Wednesday marked its 100th anniversary by making plans for centennial “grassroots events” this summer in towns where it operates. UFA formed Jan. 14, 1909 with 5,000 members as a farmers’ bulk-purchasing group through the amalgamation of the Canadian Society of Equity and Alberta Farmers Association into United Farmers of Alberta. […] Read more

The Alberta Liberals’ new leader David Swann has named his predecessor, Edmonton-Riverview MLA Kevin Taft, as the official opposition’s agriculture critic. Taft, who announced in June last year he would step down as leader and did not run in last month’s leadership contest, will now also handle the shadow portfolios for energy, aboriginal affairs and […] Read more

Members of Quebec’s legislative assembly on Tuesday elected Liberal MNA Yvon Vallieres, a former provincial agriculture, food and fisheries minister, as the assembly’s new president. Vallieres, a teacher and school counselor by profession, is the MNA for Richmond, a south-shore riding north of Sherbrooke, and has represented the riding for over 30 years (1973-76, 1981-present). […] Read more

Canada has hit the pause button on its complaint to the World Trade Organization regarding the new U.S. rules on mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL) on food. The Reuters news service on Tuesday quoted federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on a conference call from India, saying Canada’s request for formal consultations with the U.S. via the […] Read more

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has named Jeffrey Whalen as its assistant deputy minister for agrifoods development. Whalen, who had served in the post in an acting capacity since June 2006, was confirmed as the permanent ADM Tuesday along with a number of other appointments in the senior civil service. The agrifoods development ADM operates […] Read more