Livestock
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz’s comments on the listeriosis outbreak have the federal Liberals again calling for his resignation, this time over “inappropriate and insensitive” wisecracks on a conference call. Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter cited a Canadian Press report Wednesday that quoted Ritz on an Aug. 30 call with staff from the federal agriculture and […] Read more
Ritz’s listeria cracks should cost job: Grits
Maple Leaf reopens deep-cleaned Toronto plant
Following six “intensive sanitizations” to wipe out any trace of listeria, Maple Leaf Foods is restarting production at its Bartor Road meat processing plant in Toronto. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Wednesday it has allowed Maple Leaf to start “limited production” so it can assess and verify the new processes put in place […] Read more
Cattle and hog industries prepare for COOL
(Resource News International) — The Canadian livestock industry has essentially prepared itself as much as possible for the pending implementation of the U.S. government’s controversial country-of-origin-labelling (COOL) legislation at the end of the month, according to officials from the cattle and hog industries. “There had been much apprehension about the implementation, but recent changes to […] Read more
Corn ethanol will cost Ont. economy: report
Ontario’s economy can expect to take a bath of around $150 million annually from the development of its corn ethanol sector, the George Morris Centre warns in a new report. The Guelph-based ag think tank said in a report Tuesday that a $150 million net cost to the economy will be borne mostly by the […] Read more
Pork imports from U.S. rise, exports to U.S. drop
(Resource News International) — Exports of fresh, chilled and frozen pork products to Canada from the U.S. have been steadily increasing and the gap between Canadian exports and U.S. imports was seen narrowing further, according to an official with the Canadian Pork Council. “The amount of U.S. pork being imported into Canada has been steadily […] Read more
Maritime cattlemen short on feed, call for help
The leaders of the three beef industry boards in Atlantic Canada are calling on their provinces’ ag ministers to support “solutions” to a looming feed crisis. The three boards said in a joint release Monday that a “very serious” feed shortage is evolving due to heavy rainfall in many regions of the Maritimes over the […] Read more
Man. hog farmers propose alternative to ban
The hog farmers’ association in Manitoba now proposes an alternative to the all-out ban on industry expansion planned for several hog-producing regions of the province. The Manitoba Pork Council on Monday announced it will propose that the province amend Bill 17, legislation that the council had dubbed the “Anti-Farm Bill” in a recent ad campaign. […] Read more
Historic Alta. ranch to preserve native grassland
A 125-year-old ranch that’s home to one of the largest areas of native grassland in Alberta plans to preserve that grassland through new agreements with the province and conservation groups. The OH Ranch, which has operated since 1881 and runs livestock at Longview, Pekisko, Dorothy and Bassano in southern Alberta, will get a “heritage rangeland” […] Read more
N.S. to fund farm energy audit pilot
Development of an energy audit system for Nova Scotia farms by the provincial ag federation will get some funding from the province’s EcoTrust fund. The EcoTrust for Clean Air and Climate Change will put up $37,000 for the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture to create an auditing system that can be customized to help individual […] Read more
New directors named to Alberta’s AFSC
Two well-known Alberta farm leaders have been appointed to the board of the province’s ag financing, insurance and funding agency. Grain and oilseed grower Mel McNaughton and beef and grain producer Darcy Davis have each been named by Ag Minister George Groeneveld to three-year terms on the 12-member board of the Agricultural Financial Services Corp. […] Read more
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