Supreme Court allows BSE lawsuit: report

The Supreme Court of Canada won’t stop cattle producers from suing the federal government over the arrival of BSE in this country, according to a report Thursday by the Canadian Press. The news agency said the high court won’t hear an appeal filed by the federal government and Winnipeg feed maker Ridley Inc. that was […] Read more

P.E.I. cuts farm building assessments

Farm buildings used to produce pork, beef or potatoes on Prince Edward Island will get an immediate 25 per cent depreciation in their assessment for tax purposes, the province announced Thursday. “We’ve been hearing many producers are having a tough time,” said provincial treasurer Wes Sheridan in a release. “We’re aware there has been a […] Read more


Alta. bison wanted to test mobile abattoir

Researchers in Alberta are looking for four bison farms or feedlots to help test the effects of on-farm slaughter, using a mobile abattoir, on meat quality and animal stress. The provincial and federal ag departments and Olds College are collaborating on a study that will study bison for pre-slaughter stress and the quality of the […] Read more

Milk price hikes defeat sector growth: GMC

Efforts to grow Canada’s dairy sector are likely to be stymied as long as dairy producers can simply raise the price they get for industrial milk, according to a new report from the George Morris Centre. The Canadian Dairy Commission on July 11 approved an unscheduled $1.45 per hectolitre increase in industrial milk prices effective […] Read more


Alta. names MLAs to land-use committee

Long-term tasks outlined in Alberta’s new Land-Use Framework will be spearheaded by a new committee of MLAs, the provincial government announced Tuesday. Evan Berger, the MLA for Livingstone-Macleod, parliamentary assistant for sustainable resource development and a former reeve of the M.D. of Willow Creek, will chair the committee. The committee’s other MLA members are Jonathan […] Read more

Lallemand opens Montreal probiotic feed lab

Montreal feed additive firm Lallemand Animal Nutrition has opened a new centre of excellence in ruminant research to develop next-generation probiotics for livestock. The company, whose parent specializes in developing yeast- and bacteria-based products for the feed, pharmaceutical, baking and winemaking industries, opened the centre at Montreal’s Biotechnology Research Institute (BRI), a federally-owned facility providing […] Read more


Quebec to flow culled pork to food banks

The Quebec government will put up $400,000 to direct 300,000 kg of pork from hogs slaughtered through the federal cull program to 18 food banks in the province. Dr. Alain Poirier, the province’s director of public health, said in a release Monday that while the $50 million federal program covers the slaughter of surplus breeding […] Read more

Aleutian disease funds in for Nfld. ranchers

Mink ranchers in Newfoundland and Labrador can now apply for funding to improve on-farm biosecurity under a provincial Aleutian disease management program. “Under this program, eligible operators can access up to $200,000 to implement biosecurity measures to manage and/or protect against Aleutian disease,” said Kathy Dunderdale, minister for the provincial Forestry and Agrifoods Agency, in […] Read more


Sask. Ag probes “financial irregularity”

Saskatchewan’s agriculture ministry has fired an employee and called in the RCMP as it investigates a $20,000 “financial irregularity.” The ministry gave few details in a statement Thursday, other than to say one employee had been dismissed and preliminary results of its own internal investigation show the estimated total amount involved to be about $20,000. […] Read more

Canadian Pork Council names new president

Alberta hog producer Jurgen Preugschas has been named the new president of the Canadian Pork Council, replacing Ontario producer Clare Schlegel after four years at the organization’s helm. Pruegschas, who farms at Mayerthorpe, about 120 km northwest of Edmonton, is joined by a newly elected executive committee including first vice-president Jean-Guy Vincent of Ste-Seraphine, Que., […] Read more