Systems used to track broiler hatching egg and chick production in Ontario will get upgrades using federal-provincial cost-shared funding. The federal and Ontario governments on Monday last week announced up to $141,450 through the Place to Grow: Agri-food Innovation Initiative, a Canadian Agricultural Partnership program, for the Ontario Broiler Hatching Egg and Chick Commission (OBHECC). […] Read more

Ontario’s broiler egg tracking systems backed for upgrades

Cattle traceability app upgraded
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) is making it easier for producers to report mandatory traceability data and stay compliant with an improved Canadian Livestock Tracking System (CLTS) MOBO app. The upgraded and free app enables easy access to the CLTS database from Android and iPhone devices and is more user friendly than the basic […] Read more

The brave new world of blockchain
Digital traceability has suddenly been thrust into the food sector
Reading Time: 5 minutes If there was ever any doubt that agriculture would someday run headlong into the blockchain space, it was quashed on Sept. 24. That was the day Walmart announced its leafy green suppliers would be required (in a year’s time) to participate in a blockchain-driven system providing full-chain traceability of their produce. In recent years, Bitcoin […] Read more

A new dawn? Sustainable beef puts money in producers’ pockets
It’s only $10 a cow, but pilot marks the first time producers have been paid for their stewardship efforts
Reading Time: 4 minutes The first rubber-meets-the-road test of the years-long effort to make sustainable beef a paying proposition has been a success. After three months of testing, the Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration pilot project has shown that tracing certified sustainable cattle and beef through the supply chain is possible at current volumes. “It’s one of the first times […] Read more

Cattle producers urged to get premises identification number
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Cattle Identification Agency is urging Alberta livestock producers to prepare for new livestock traceability regulations that once enacted will require them to have a valid, premises identification (PID) number. A producer can call Alberta’s PID registry at 310-FARM with a legal land description to confirm or acquire a PID, or contact a field […] Read more

Put antimicrobials, traceability, and biosecurity on your to-do list
All three areas are undergoing changes that producers should be aware of, says the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association
Reading Time: 2 minutes There are things that beef producers need to look out for in the coming months when it comes to herd health and biosecurity. “We do know that there are changes in play that will require all medically important antimicrobials to become prescription only,” said Rob McNabb, general manager of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. Some medically […] Read more

Livestock premises ID participation strengthens Canadian agriculture
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is considering changes to the Health of Animals Regulations for livestock traceability, the agency announced during PremisesIDWeek July 26, a federal release says. The changes would require all Canadian operators of premises where livestock may be loaded or unloaded from a vehicle to have a valid premises identification number for […] Read more

A full and robust traceability system still years away
Alberta is one of the few provinces with mandatory premises identification, but some livestock owners still aren’t registered
Reading Time: 2 minutes A national traceability system covering the entire country would pay major benefits — but it currently has far too many gaps, says a senior traceability official. “The creation of a system has to be national in scope,” said Rick Frederickson, director of animal welfare and national traceability initiatives with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “We need […] Read more

New era of traceability needs to involve the consumer
A system created to deal with food safety issues should also be a ‘conduit’ connecting consumers and farmers
Reading Time: 3 minutes One of Canada’s best-known food experts says that while farmers and the ag sector are trying hard to connect with consumers, they’re not pulling it off. And they’ll need to do better because customer engagement is critical in the new “era of supply chain transparency,” Sylvain Charlebois told the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency’s inaugural Traceability […] Read more

Ottawa to back P+H’s Hamilton flour mill
Winnipeg agrifood firm Parrish and Heimbecker has lined up more government financing for its planned new flour mill at Hamilton, this time from the federal level. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Thursday announced a $10 million “repayable investment” in the project from the AgriInnovation program, part of the Growing Forward 2 ag policy funding framework. […] Read more