Reading Time: 3 minutes The mystery over how seven plants of genetically modified wheat wound up growing next to an Alberta field access road will take some time to unravel. This high-tech whodunit has regulators scratching their heads to figure out how a known glyphosate-resistance gene from Monsanto got into an unknown variety of wheat hundreds of kilometres from […] Read more
Where did GM wheat found in Alberta come from?
So far, there seems to be no logical explanation on how the GM wheat came to exist
New Alberta rep on Canadian Pork Council
Reading Time: < 1 minute Dan Majeau is the new Alberta rep on the Canadian Pork Council, a federation of nine provincial pork industry associations representing 7,000 farms. Among the council’s priority issues are pushing Ottawa to take a leadership role in completing Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. The organization has also been working the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to resolve issues […] Read more
The door to Europe isn’t quite open yet
The EU trade deal is now a go, but ‘very few producers’ have signed up for a program that makes their cattle eligible
Reading Time: 3 minutes The European Union has the potential to be a big marketplace for Canadian beef producers, but it’s going to take some effort to get them here. “We are concerned that to date very few producers are enrolling their cattle in the EU program,” the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association said in a recent edition of its e-newsletter. […] Read more
Another close call for Alberta’s hog sector
The deadly virus was recently found in a transport trailer that was supposed to have been disinfected before crossing the border
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta hog producers are being warned to stay vigilant following the recent discovery of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in a livestock trailer. The “weak” positive sample was found in a trailer during routine monitoring several weeks ago. “What it means for us is that we are still being exposed to the PED virus through […] Read more
New verified beef program makes a timely debut
Revamped VBP program means producers can document their animal care, biosecurity, and environmental practices
Reading Time: 4 minutes The newly launched Verified Beef Production Plus program is taking Canada one step closer in its quest towards verified sustainable beef, says one of its designers. “This is just from my perspective, but we have always had early adopters — the people who believe in it — but there have never been clear market signals,” […] Read more
Poisonous weed found in Alberta canola fields
Devil’s trumpet is highly poisonous, but poses little risk when processed into canola meal or oil
Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s still more questions than answers after a highly toxic prohibited weed was found in canola fields in three counties in north-central Alberta. Devil’s trumpet — also called jimsonweed — has been confirmed in Barrhead, Leduc, and Westlock counties, but how it got there and how widespread the problem is remains a mystery. “It would […] Read more
Regulatory wrangling ups the threat of PEDv in Canada
Livestock trailers coming from the U.S. could spread the virus across Western Canada, say pork officials
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washing hog transports in the U.S. before they return to Canada sounds good in theory — but it may actually increase the threat of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus here. “We are extremely concerned about this because essentially we’re going to be sending trailers to be firehose washed at some point in the U.S. where they […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
