Canada’s seven-year-old free trade pact with South Korea already provides for reduced tariffs on cherries from British Columbia — a commodity that’s just been approved for export to Korea for the first time starting this month. Canadian agriculture and food safety officials announced Aug. 10 that talks with Seoul on import rules and certifications had […] Read more
B.C. cherries cleared for export to Korea
Canada-Korea free trade pact a step ahead on lower tariffs
Bayer, BASF win new trial on damage award in U.S. dicamba suit
Reuters — Bayer and BASF have won a new trial on US$60 million in punitive damages they were ordered to pay a Missouri peach farmer who said dicamba, a herbicide they produced, drifted onto his orchard and harmed his crops. The Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that a federal jury was wrongly told […] Read more
Modern technology makes greenhouse greener
Reading Time: < 1 minute Before getting into the greenhouse business, Ray Price consulted extensively with experts and toured multiple facilities, many of which were in the Netherlands, which is ground zero for innovation on growing under glass. The facility’s hoist system provides 30 per cent more yield, but it also does not neglect carbon capture or water leaching, two […] Read more
Hepatitis A outbreak linked to organic strawberries
Cases reported in two provinces, three states
Washington | Reuters –– Food safety regulators in both Canada and the U.S. are investigating a hepatitis A outbreak potentially linked to tainted organic strawberries that has sickened 17 people in the U.S. and 10 in Canada, the agencies said. Fifteen illnesses were reported in California, and one each in Minnesota and North Dakota, the […] Read more
Prizes put up to develop year-round berry production in Canada
Weston Foundation's new challenge backed with $33 million
A philanthropic foundation focused on improving public health now wants to improve diets by finding ways to juice up Canada’s home-grown fruit supplies. The Weston Family Foundation on Tuesday pledged $33 million over six years for what it calls the Homegrown Innovation Challenge, a prize challenge pitting ideas against ideas with the goal of extending […] Read more
Smoothie cubes pulled for raw elderberry use
Quebec company's 'Immunity' smoothies under recall; illnesses reported
Federal food safety officials say a Quebec company’s new line of frozen smoothie cubes, sold online, is being recalled over its use of raw elderberries and a resulting potential risk of cyanide poisoning. Montreal-based Evive Nutrition, known in part for its pitch on CBC TV’s Dragons’ Den in 2019, is recalling its Evive brand Immunity […] Read more
Canada resists pressure to drop vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers
Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pushing ahead with a vaccine mandate for international truckers despite increasing pressure from critics who say it will exacerbate driver shortages and drive up the price of goods imported from the United States. Canada will require all truckers entering from the U.S. to show proof […] Read more
Berry project aims to spark a boom in greenhouse sector
Year-round strawberry and tomato production could see fivefold expansion, says college
Reading Time: 2 minutes Local only applies to strawberries part of the year, but a new collaboration by Sunterra Group and Lethbridge College aims to change that. “Current demand for fresh, locally grown produce far outstrips the available supply in a market reliant on Mexican and U.S. imports for most of the year,” the college said in a news […] Read more
U.S. trade body rules blueberry imports do not harm industry
Canada among top five nations selling blueberries into U.S.
Washington/Mexico City | Reuters — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled on Thursday that blueberry imports are not causing serious injury to domestic producers and will not recommend further action to reduce foreign supplies, in a win for berry exporters. In recent years, U.S. producers have claimed damages from what they argue are unfair […] Read more
Schoepp: The plight of the banana has implications for all of agriculture
Overreliance on chemical control has brought this hugely important global crop to a crisis point
Reading Time: 3 minutes Regardless of the season there are some foods that are always available and one of them is the banana. It’s an interesting fruit because of the dominance it has in terms of trade and its unique characteristic of being a non-seed-bearing clone. Most bananas come from Ecuador, Philippines, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia and another 125 […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
