Livestock

All wells in British Columbia must have a secure cap in place by the end of this month to meet the province’s new ground water protection regulation, the government warned in a bulletin today. And the regulation, which will apply to all existing wells and those under construction, doesn’t allow well owners to get away […] Read more

Election night in Ontario proved to be a good Wednesday night for provincial politicians with a hand in the agriculture or rural portfolios. Voters returned Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals for a second majority government, with the party elected in 71 of 107 ridings according to Elections Ontario at this writing. The Progressive Conservatives, whose leader John […] Read more

Toronto pet food maker Menu Foods plans a round of restructuring and cost-cutting to recover from its major product recalls this spring. The company, a major North American producer of “wet” pet foods sold under in-house supermarket and grocery store labels, said today that it’s revised the estimated cost of recalling products made between last […] Read more

New Brunswick’s provincial government will put $210,000 into a new campaign to encourage residents to buy local foods. Agriculture Minister Ron Ouelette today announced the Agri-Food Market Development Program, which will accept funding applications from “agri-food businesses” to help them boost their profiles among consumers within the province. Applications for funds will be accepted under […] Read more

Both handlers of the provincial agri-foods file, Newfoundland and Labrador’s natural resources minister Kathy Dunderdale and Liberal critic Yvonne Jones, kept their seats in the house of assembly in Tuesday’s provincial election. Jones was one of just three Liberals to be reelected in the province, as Premier Danny Williams’ Progressive Conservatives won 43 of 47 […] Read more

The Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council announced today that its first investment will be up to $1.2 million for Natural Prairie Beef, a marketing and processing project to be based at Neepawa, Man. The company, which was founded in 2004 and so far includes about 110 shareholders, plans to use the money to expand its consortium […] Read more

In what some observers call a long-shot measure to stop older Canadian cattle from being exported to the U.S., lawmakers have launched “resolutions of disapproval” in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. U.S. agriculture officials on Sept. 18 published what Canadian cattle organizations have called “Rule 2,” to take effect Nov. 19, allowing […] Read more

Quebec’s Commission on the future of agriculture and agri-food in the province has wrapped up over a year of hearings across the province, the government announced today. Now comes the next big step: compiling all they’ve heard into recommendations for the provincial government in a report due in January. Since it was called to order […] Read more

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s review of an Ontario firm’s vaccine to reduce E. coli 0157:H7 in cattle doesn’t support a license for the product at this time, the manufacturer said today. Bioniche Life Sciences of Belleville, Ont., said it plans to submit more statistical analyses and rationale to USDA in the weeks to come, […] Read more

Recovery for Alberta’s struggling hog farmers will involve tax-funded offsets for the “vastly inflated” cost of feed grains and a “new business relationship” with the province’s biggest packer, according to the province’s hog farmer organization. “In order to keep our largest processor (the Olymel pork plant at Red Deer) in Alberta, producers have been forced […] Read more