food industry Archives | Alberta Farmer Express

Might future growth for Canada’s fruit and vegetable industries be found indoors?

Schoepp: Technology can be used to create new opportunities in Canadian agriculture

We can not only grow more veggies and fruits here, but also create new value-added sectors

By Brenda Schoepp March 19, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada’s food guide encourages putting fruits and vegetables at the centre of the plate. But to do this the nation is heavily dependent on imports, particularly from California. In 2019, Canada imported US$4.3 billion of vegetables, fruits and nuts from California. In total, Canada imports nearly US$6 billion in fruits and US$4 billion in vegetables […] Read more

Opinion

Rance: Sustainability isn’t a burden, but an opportunity

By Laura Rance December 31, 2019

Reading Time: 3 minutes It didn’t take long for a young cattle rancher from Saskatchewan to capture the audience’s attention at the recent Canada 2020 National Forum on Agri-Food in Ottawa. “For me, the word ‘sustainability’ is synonymous with McDonald’s,” said Adrienne Ivey, who is part of a family corporation managing 3,000 beef cattle on a 10,000-acre spread near […] Read more

If you’ve got a vision for a new food product, “do it and don’t wait,” says John Schalkwyk, who started Sylvan Star Cheese with wife Janneke on their dairy operation near Sylvan Lake more than 20 years ago.

News

The time is right for small-scale local food processing

Food processing could be the real ‘Alberta Advantage’

By Jennifer Blair May 6, 2019

Reading Time: 6 minutes Alberta’s new premier has declared the province “open for business” — and investing in food processing might just be the right place to start. “There are a ton of opportunities for us to capitalize on our ‘Alberta Advantage’ to make high-quality food products at a reasonable cost,” said Sanford Gleddie, vice-president of agriculture and business […] Read more

What are perceived as imperfections by some in fruits and vegetables, results in global losses as much as 50 per cent of the total grown.

From the Hip, Opinion

When it comes to food waste, the system is broken

An astonishing amount of food spoils or is thrown out — it’s time to take action

By Brenda Schoepp December 5, 2018

Reading Time: 3 minutes Between my home and the Victoria airport is a big sign urging “Let’s reduce food waste.” If you are reading this column from your farm table, you may already be an expert at the preservation of food and the use of leftovers. Typically, we eat all we grow on the farm. In the store however, […] Read more

Want more environmentally friendly cows? One big way is to do everything you can to ensure they have calves.

Beef Cattle, News

Sustainable beef pilot continues to expand

The program has a new customer and is poised to expand into Ontario

By Alberta Farmer Staff September 4, 2018

Reading Time: < 1 minute The payment to producers fell slightly, but the sustainable beef pilot attracted a new restaurant chain and Ontario producers will soon be able to participate. The Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration pilot project, launched last fall, tracks cattle and beef produced under certified sustainability standards from ranch to retailer. In the latest quarter, more than one […] Read more

Tyson Foods launched its ¡Yappah! product with a campaign on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo.

Opinion

Comment: Increasingly, food must not only taste good, but ‘feel good’

Flavour and price still count, but more people  want food that appeals to their social conscience

By Laura Rance July 17, 2018

Reading Time: 3 minutes Sometimes deciding what to feed the family after a long, arduous day juggling daycare, jobs, and traffic seems overwhelmingly complicated. If a recent press release from the U.S.-based Tyson Innovation Lab is any indication, deciding what we’re going to put into our mouths next is about to get more cluttered with new products, new language, […] Read more

DowDuPont’s Saskatoon laboratory, seen in this company video, played a pivotal role in developing a high-protein canola aimed at the pig and poultry feed markets.

Canola, Crops

They haven’t struck oil — and that’s a good thing for canola growers

A new high-protein canola aimed at the feed market could increase farmer returns

By Jennifer Blair June 11, 2018

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canola meal could soon give soymeal a run for its money in international feed markets, thanks to a new high-protein canola variety coming down the pipe. “This is a positive for the whole industry,” said Ward Toma, general manager of Alberta Canola. “It increases the value of the secondary product — the meal — and […] Read more

The www.whatsinthefield.com website offers people more information on crops and livestock they see in Alberta farm country.

News

‘What’s in the field?’ program adds new component

By Ag for Life March 22, 2018

Reading Time: < 1 minute Agriculture for Life is enhancing its ‘What’s in the field?’ program to give consumers more information on what they see when driving by fields and pastures. The program, which is entering its third year, provides signs (at no cost to producers) that identify the crop being grown in a field or the breed of livestock […] Read more

Crops, News

Spitz sunflower seed processing heads south

In the latest food-processing closure, PepsiCo is closing the Bow Island plant and moving the work to the U.S.

By Alberta Farmer Staff March 14, 2018

Reading Time: 3 minutes The parent company for sunflower seed processor Spitz is poised to close the plant in the brand’s hometown, but says it’s still “committed” to Canadian-grown seeds. However, the company’s founder says the closing of the Bow Island processing plant is another sign that President Donald Trump’s bid to bring jobs back to the U.S. is […] Read more

Crops, News, Weather

Steady harvest progression, but yields, crop quality suffers

Alberta crop conditions as of August 22

By Alberta Agriculture and Forestry August 25, 2017

Reading Time: < 1 minute A week of warm and relatively dry weather throughout the province benefited crop development in the northern regions and allowed harvest to progress rapidly in the South. Crop Conditions have stabilized at 54 per cent rated good or excellent, down less than 2 points on the week. Provincial harvest progress has advanced to 6 per […] Read more

B.C. again waives ag income threshold for farm properties

Flea beetles a nuisance for canola crop

Businesses, U.S. legislators fume as Canada extends travel ban

GFM Network News