Close-up of a McDonald’s double Quarter Pounder with bacon. (Corporate.mcdonalds.com)

McDonald’s reported laying off hundreds of corporate employees

Layoffs don't include restaurant-level workers

New York | Reuters — The number of corporate employees McDonald’s Corp. plans to lay off this week will tally in the “hundreds,” a source familiar with the burger chain’s thinking said on Monday, as the company moves forward with a previously announced restructuring. The fast-food company is closing its offices “out of respect,” and […] Read more

Cows on a Grunthal, Man. dairy farm. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Geralyn Wichers)

Continuous tie-stall housing to be phased out in new dairy code of practice

Producer, animal welfare groups praise new code; some drawbacks were noted

New guidelines for dairy cattle care will improve animal welfare while also potentially increasing farm productivity, Dairy Farmers of Canada says. “I think that we’ve come to a very solid revised code,” David Wiens, DFC’s vice-president, said in an interview. The National Farm Animal Care Council (NFACC) on Thursday released its revised Code of Practice […] Read more


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Beef sector rips ‘unjust’ result as talks wrap on U.K. entry to CPTPP

Dairy sector calls for 'vigilant' enforcement on British imports

Negotiations have concluded for the United Kingdom to join Canada and its 10 partner nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade pact, with Canada’s beef cattle sector already calling the results “fundamentally unjust.” Federal Trade Minster Mary Ng on Thursday announced the conclusion of negotiations, making the U.K. the first accession applicant to reach that […] Read more

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Carbon price exemption for farm gas clears Commons

Bill C-234 next headed to Senate

Legislative amendments that would exempt farmers’ eligible purchases of natural gas and propane from federal carbon pricing are now en route to Canada’s Senate. Bill C-234, a private member’s bill sponsored by Ben Lobb, the Conservative MP for the southern Ontario riding of Huron-Bruce, passed third reading for adoption in the House of Commons on […] Read more


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland walk with copies of the 2023-24 budget on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 28, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Patrick Doyle)

Interest-free cash advances get extra lift in federal budget

Fertilizer diversification, solids non-fat processing also up for funding

Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s latest budget envelope for Canadian farmers up against rising costs of production includes a temporary boost to the interest-free portion of cash advances. Freeland’s 2023 federal budget, released Tuesday, includes $13 million in 2023-24 for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to temporarily increase the interest-free limit for loans under its Advance […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Food sales grew but margins tightened in 2022, FCC says

Modest further growth expected this year

Food and beverages sales increased in Canada last year, even as margins hit an historic low and consumers chose Canadian less. According to the latest FCC Food and Beverage Report, released Tuesday, sales increased 11 per cent to $156 billion in 2022. These gains came largely from higher export values and strength in the grain […] Read more


File photo of goats on display at the Hanover Agricultural Fair in Grunthal, Man. in August 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

CFIA seeks feedback on traceability, animal ID amendments

Producers have until June 16 to comment on proposals

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is now seeking comment on its proposed amendments to livestock identification and traceability regulations. The regulatory proposal would address what the agency calls “gaps” in the current system, including: adding goats and cervids as animal species that share diseases with other regulated livestock, and therefore subject to traceability requirements, shortening […] Read more

This Jersey cow bred to a new Black Angus heifer bull had no trouble delivering this crossbred  bull calf, indicating a good start to the calving season.

Getting ready for calving season

Eppich News: Milking two cows leads to a wide range of homemade dairy products

January passed by in a blink of an eye. Gregory fed cows every day and usually had to move snow around to either feed or to bed. Overall, the weather was pretty nice, so the boys and I would work on some schoolwork in the mornings, and then go out and play in the afternoon. […] Read more


Wheat in progress west of Pathlow, Sask. on Aug. 1, 2022. (Dave Bedard photo)

Crop, livestock prices offset reduced marketings in 2022

StatCan data on farm cash receipts tracks recovery off 2021 drought

New full-year data on Canada’s farm cash receipts in calendar 2022 show how increased commodity prices last year more than offset the drop in quantities sold. Statistics Canada on Tuesday released figures showing Canadian farm cash receipts in 2022 at $94.9 billion, up 14.1 per cent from 2021, including crop receipts of $53.9 billion (also […] Read more

(Nadezhda_Nesterova/iStock/Getty Images)

Bill to keep supply management off trade table moving forward

CCA, other groups oppose proposal as Bloc MP's private bill passes second reading

A federal private member’s bill that would codify the current government’s promise to leave supply-managed ag commodities out of any future free trade deals has advanced to the committee stage. Introduced last June 13 by Bloc Quebecois MP Luc Theriault, Bill C-282 came back last Wednesday to pass second reading in the House of Commons […] Read more