Livestock

With Ontario’s sugar beet harvest unexpectedly yielding “more beets than can be reasonably processed,” the provincial ag department is now encouraging growers to consider a set-aside program option, including feeding whole beets to livestock. Under such a program option, part of the crop would be left either unharvested or undelivered for processing. Farmers planning to […] Read more

Nova Scotia’s agriculture department will manage a new database of inspection reports for the province’s food establishments, grocery stores and restaurants. In launching the new database Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Brooke Taylor said the system “will allow us to better manage food safety information” and streamline the work process for the province’s 25 food safety specialists, […] Read more

Ontario’s Bioniche Life Sciences has picked up full licensing approval from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for its vaccine to reduce shedding of E. coli O157:H7 by cattle. The vaccine, to be marketed under the name Econiche, is thus now available for “unrestricted use” by Canadian cattle producers and their veterinarians, the Belleville company said […] Read more

Alberta consumers will start paying a refundable recycling deposit on all milk containers as of June 1 next year. The province on Wednesday announced Canada’s first deposit-refund recycling program for milk cartons and other milk and dairy-based beverage containers, allowing residents to return all such containers to bottle depot locations for the deposit. Milk containers […] Read more

Quebec dairy firm Saputo has permanently closed one of its U.S. cheesemaking facilities that was damaged in a fire last month. The plant at Hinesburg, Vermont, about 175 km south of Montreal, is officially closed as of Wednesday, putting 80 permanent staff out of work. The plant was damaged by fire on Sept. 29, since […] Read more

Officials from Canada and South Korea resume technical negotiations Nov. 3-4, focused on restoring Korean market access for Canadian beef, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz confirmed Wednesday. Korea’s ports have been closed to imports of Canadian beef since May 2003, after officials confirmed Canada’s first home-grown case of BSE in an Alberta cow. The market was […] Read more

Quebec dairy giant Saputo has announced a cash deal to buy Neilson Dairy, Weston Foods’ dairy division, for $465 million. Neilson makes and markets fluid milk and dairy beverages, cream, non-dairy creamers, butter, yogurt, juices and drinks under the Neilson brand and others, primarily for the Ontario market. The deal, to be financed through Saputo’s […] Read more

Livestock producers in British Columbia’s northern, central and Peace regions will be offered forage supply coverage for 2009 through their provincial forage production insurance program. “When faced with regional challenges such as drought, producers struggle with decreased forage supply and increased operating costs,” the province said in a release Tuesday. For eligible producers, the province […] Read more

The Canadian and Mexican governments have reached an agreement to remove Mexico’s temporary ban on imports of Alberta breeding cattle. The agreement resumes trade of all breeding cattle born after January 1999, lifting a ban imposed by the Mexican government in August upon Canada’s confirmation of its 14th case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, or […] Read more

Major Canadian cheesemakers Kraft Canada, Parmalat Canada and Saputo have jointly filed a court challenge of new limits on their use of modified milk. The federal government has put regulatory amendments to the Food and Drugs Act and Canadian Agricultural Products Act in place to take effect Dec. 14. The amendments were published last December […] Read more