An animal welfare activist has died while attending what’s been described as a “vigil” outside a southern Ontario hog packing plant, as new provincial limits on such activity around livestock are set to take effect. Halton Regional Police Service reported receiving a call Friday morning that a person had been “struck by a transport truck” […] Read more
Animal welfare activist dies outside Ontario pork plant
Protestor reportedly hit by transport truck
TFW program to be overhauled after COVID-19 outbreaks on farms
"The piece that's missing is enforcement"
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada is overhauling its temporary foreign worker program, a government spokeswoman said on Friday, after coronavirus outbreaks on Ontario farms sickened hundreds and led Mexico to demand assurances of proper safeguards. As part of the review, surprise inspections of working and living conditions on farms will immediately increase, Ashley Michnowski, communications […] Read more
Co-op Refinery, union reach tentative labour deal
Proposal now goes to ratification vote
The operators of one of Western Canada’s biggest fuel refineries have reached a tentative deal with the union representing workers locked out since December. The deal, if ratified in an employee vote, would end the lockout at Federated Co-operatives’ (FCL) Co-op Refinery Complex (CRC), a major bulk fuel supplier to farmers and rural co-ops across […] Read more
Carbon pricing not having ‘significant impact’ on grain drying, Bibeau says
Conservatives, ag groups dispute government's numbers
Ottawa — Grain drying costs an average of $210 to $819 per farm in carbon taxes, according to federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. Her department used data provided by grower groups – including Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) and the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) – to arrive at the figures. The federal estimate […] Read more
Brandt buys GeoShack’s Ontario business
Deal makes equipment firm the exclusive Topcon dealer for Canada
Farm, forestry and construction equipment maker Brandt is about to buy itself a lock on the market for Topcon GPS equipment in Canada. The Regina-based Brandt Group announced Wednesday it has reached a deal to buy the assets of GeoShack Canada Co. and the Canadian assets of Inteq Distributors, both owned by Dallas-based Ultara Holdings. […] Read more
Sollio outlines pandemic recovery plan for food sector
Support sought for automation, digitization, telecommunications
Ottawa — One of Canada’s largest agri-food companies has laid out a five-point industry recovery plan for federal politicians to consider. During a meeting Tuesday of the Commons standing committee on finance, the president of Quebec-based Sollio Co-operative Group shared plans to limit consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agrifood supply chain. Sollio employs […] Read more
Rite Way proposes to buy Morris Industries
Regina farm equipment maker draws up letter of intent
Cash-crunched seeding equipment maker Morris Industries has been handed a letter of intent to purchase, from a Saskatchewan suitor with a farm equipment company of its own. Calgary consultancy Alvarez and Marsal said in a report Tuesday it received a letter of intent for a “proposed sale transaction” from Superior Farms Solutions Ltd. (SFSL), the […] Read more
Outdoor Farm Show relocating to cyberspace for 2020
In-person event cancelled due to COVID-19
Another major event on Eastern Canada’s fall farming calendar has halted its up-close-and-in-person plans for 2020 but expects to follow its western sister event into virtual space. Glacier FarmMedia, the owner/operator of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show and of this website, announced Monday it will cancel its event scheduled for Sept. 15-17 at Canada’s Outdoor Park […] Read more
Union warns of fuel supply disruption in ‘Dear Farmers’ notice
Farmers 'should not be worried,' FCL says
The union representing locked-out workers at Regina’s Co-op Refinery Complex is warning Prairie farmers that a disruption of fuel supplies during seeding could be the “only option” it has in its labour dispute with Federated Co-operatives (FCL). Unifor 594, whose 730-odd members at the CRC were locked out Dec. 5 after serving 48 hours’ strike […] Read more
CEBA expanded to farms, other ‘owner-operated’ businesses
Program offers zero-interest, partly-forgivable loans
Farms and other “owner-operated” businesses with little or no payroll may soon be able to get in on a federal program offering zero-interest loans to businesses up against pandemic-related drops in revenue. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday announced an expansion of eligibility under the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) to also include “sole proprietors […] Read more
