Provincial meat inspectors in Alberta could soon be seconded to federally inspected packing plants under a new work-sharing arrangement between the province and Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The federal and Alberta governments announced Wednesday they would partner to “increase food inspector capacity” in the province and thus “ensure the continuous operation of Alberta’s food supply […] Read more
Alberta’s provincial meat inspectors to train for federal duty
Provincial inspectors to be seconded to CFIA-inspected packers
Ontario offers cash for abattoir upgrades
Applications now being accepted through April
Ontario’s 123 provincially-licensed abattoirs can now start applying for a piece of $2 million in federal/provincial funding to step up food safety, biosecurity and animal welfare measures. The Ontario and federal governments on Wednesday announced applications for cost-share funding can be submitted between now and April 30, “as long as funding for the initiative is […] Read more
Saputo to shut two dairy plants in East
Canadian dairy processing giant Saputo, in a move it describes as “right-sizing” its manufacturing footprint, plans to close two of its plants in Eastern Canada within a year. Montreal-based Saputo said Thursday it will close the former Riverside Cheese and Butter plant at Trenton, Ont. this September and its Baxter dairy plant at Saint John, […] Read more
CGC revises domestic canola usage downward
MarketsFarm — Domestic canola demand remained well ahead of exports in the latest Canadian Grain Commission report for the week ended Sunday — but revisions to data now show the crush pace is not quite as active as reported earlier in the month. The original data for the week ended Jan. 5 showed domestic disappearance […] Read more
Cargill quarterly profit drops on trade tensions, U.S. floods
Chicago | Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill reported a 41 per cent drop in adjusted quarterly profit on Thursday, citing supply disruptions stemming from the U.S.-China trade war and also flooding in the central United States that hit marketing and transportation of grains and livestock. Cargill, the largest privately held U.S. company, said adjusted […] Read more
ADM to combine grain trading, oilseed businesses
Chicago | Reuters — Global grains trader Archer Daniels Midland said Wednesday it will consolidate five business units into four in the company’s second reorganization in just over a year as adverse weather and a U.S.-China trade dispute threaten profits. ADM will combine its grain trading and oilseeds segments into a new business unit called […] Read more
Bunge names acting chief as new CEO
Reuters — Global grains trader Bunge on Thursday named Gregory Heckman as its chief executive officer, three months after he took the helm in an interim capacity. Heckman, a founding partner of private investment firm Flatwater Partners and the former chief executive of grains trader Gavilon Group, was appointed acting CEO in January after long-serving […] Read more
U.S. grains: Corn, soy, wheat close strong
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose 1.7 per cent on Friday as traders unwound bearish bets they placed on the grain when the market spiraled to a 14-month low earlier this week. The most-active Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contract hit its highest since March 6 as investment funds were […] Read more
Canary seed holds steady despite food adoption hopes
MarketsFarm — Expectations for canary seed to break beyond birdseed into the food market haven’t yet translated to substantially higher prices for the crop. Canary seed was designated safe for human consumption in 2016, after which Saskatchewan’s then-agriculture minister Lyle Stewart predicted acreage dedicated to the crop would increase as it was incorporated into more […] Read more
Canada’s Saputo to buy major U.K. dairy firm
A major British dairy company is poised to become the property of one of Canada’s biggest dairy processors in a $1.7 billion all-cash deal. Saputo Inc. announced Friday it has an agreement in place with Dairy Crest Group — the maker of Cathedral City cheese and Country Life butter among other major U.K. dairy brands […] Read more
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