Reading Time: < 1 minute Redwater poultry farmers Marc and Hinke Therrien are this year’s Outstanding Young Farmers for Alberta. The couple started their agriculture careers in the feed industry and Marc worked at a large broiler farm in order to gain hands-on farming experience. In 2012, they were offered the opportunity to run Pine Valley Family Farm, where they […] Read more
Poultry farmers named Alberta’s Outstanding Young Farmers
Low-path bird flu turns up in Wisconsin turkeys
Paris | Reuters — The U.S. has reported an outbreak of avian flu on a farm in Wisconsin, the second in the country in less than a week although the virus found this time is considered less virulent, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said on Tuesday. A strain of low-pathogenic H5N2 avian flu […] Read more
Bird flu found in Tennessee chicken flock
Reuters — A strain of bird flu has been detected in a chicken breeder flock on a Tennessee farm contracted to U.S. food giant Tyson Foods, and the 73,500 birds will be culled to stop the virus from entering the food system, government and company officials said on Sunday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said […] Read more
WHO says bird flu outbreaks raise alarm
London | Reuters — The risk of sustained human-to-human transmission of H7N9 avian flu in China is low, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, but a surge in human cases there is worrying and requires constant monitoring. Outbreaks of H5 bird flu strains in poultry and wild birds across Europe, Africa and Asia are […] Read more
Chicken industry takes wing on some very creative marketing
Lowly chicken wings used to be a big problem for processors, now they are a huge and growing source of profits
Reading Time: 3 minutes If there is one thing that North Americans love to eat — it is chicken wings. During the Super Bowl game alone, one billion wings are consumed along with an ocean of beer. Canadians are right in there chowing down on the once tossed tidbit, and continue to eat a few birds each year themselves. […] Read more
Cash-rich Maple Leaf sees abundant U.S. opportunities
Reuters — Canadian meat packing company Maple Leaf Foods is hunting for acquisitions in the U.S., after years spent upgrading old factories and shedding business lines, its CEO said on Wednesday. Maple Leaf, which reported on Wednesday its profits doubled in the fourth quarter, sees growth opportunities from meat produced humanely and without antibiotics, and […] Read more
China reports more severe form of bird flu, threat to poultry
Geneva/Beijing | Reuters — China is working to assess the prevalence of a new strain of H7N9 bird flu, state radio reported Wednesday, after global health authorities said the strain had evolved into a more severe form in birds. So far the variant strain has only been detected in Guangdong province, but given the wide […] Read more
Maple Leaf Foods allows McCain to boost stake
Reuters — Canadian meat processor Maple Leaf Foods reported a smaller-than-expected profit on Wednesday and also said it would allow its biggest shareholder to take a bigger stake in the company. The company said CEO Michael McCain and an affiliated company, McCain Capital Inc., could now bump up their stake to as much as 45 […] Read more
Tyson accelerates shift away from antibiotics in chicken
Chicago | Reuters — Tyson Foods in June will switch its retail line of company-branded chicken products to birds raised without any antibiotics, a top executive said on Tuesday, accelerating the meat sector’s shift away from the drugs. The change will make Tyson, which is the largest U.S. chicken processor, into the world’s leading producer […] Read more
Tim Hortons owner confirms US$1.8B deal for Popeyes
Reuters — Restaurant Brands International, owner of the Burger King and Tim Hortons fast-food chains, said on Tuesday it would acquire Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen for US$1.8 billion in cash. The deal is a bet by Oakville, Ont.-based Restaurant Brands that it can use its international reach to introduce Popeyes’ Louisiana-style fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
