A trademark that Swiss commodity firm Glencore picked up when it bought its way into Prairie agriculture is about to become the global brand for its agribusiness offspring. David Mattiske, CEO of Glencore Agriculture, announced in a statement Wednesday the company will rebrand the business to Viterra in “late 2020.” The Viterra brand dates back […] Read more
‘Glencore Agriculture’ to adopt Viterra brand
Worldwide ag business to rebrand later this year
Alberta’s AFSC to refund hail premiums on drowned crops
Agency taking applications until Sept. 11
Grain growers in Alberta’s Peace, northeastern and northwestern farming regions whose waterlogged crops are deemed “non-viable” can now file for full refunds on AFSC hail insurance premiums. AFSC, the province’s Agriculture Financial Services Corporation, announced Wednesday it will accept such applications from eligible growers from now until Sept. 11. Applications will be available online through […] Read more
Brandon pork plant’s exports to China suspended
Chinese protocols call for temporary pause, Maple Leaf says
New Chinese rules for exporters and a number of COVID-19 cases among its workers have led Maple Leaf Foods to temporarily halt pork traffic to China from its biggest hog plant. The company said Tuesday it has “temporarily suspended pork exports to China on a voluntary basis due to recent protocols adopted by the Chinese […] Read more
Red Deer hog plant books first COVID case
One employee confirmed with virus, 13 isolating as precaution, company says
A major Prairie hog slaughter and processing plant relatively untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic has marked its first case of the coronavirus in a production line worker. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec ag co-operative Sollio, said an employee who reported for work Monday last week at its Red Deer, Alta. plant began showing […] Read more
Plant-protein processor’s new processing plant gets grant
Feds, province put up cash for new equipment
The federal and Manitoba governments have added a seven-figure contribution to their support for a new facility to process plant proteins from canola and peas. Merit Functional Foods will put the additional money toward “new equipment purchases that will support the transformation of raw inputs into value-added goods.” The unspecified new technology is expected to […] Read more
Feds to probe complaints of wheat gluten dumping
New duties on six countries' gluten imports might follow
Federal officials are launching a probe into whether wheat gluten from six countries is being dumped in Canada at prices undercutting the domestic product. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said Friday it’s launching an investigation to determine whether “certain wheat gluten” from Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Lithuania is being sold at “unfair […] Read more
Feds line up projects for surplus food program
NGOs backed to gather, distribute 12 million kg of food
The federal government has lined up eight projects to source and distribute perishable produce, meat, eggs and seafood piling up across Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the federal pandemic response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in early May that Ottawa would budget $50 million for a food surplus purchase program. The […] Read more
McDonald’s resuming all-Canadian beef supply
'Supply adjustment' ends next month, company says
Updated, Aug. 18 — McDonald’s Canada’s pandemic-related “supply adjustment,” in which the burger chain cut its Canadian beef purchases to below 100 per cent, is set to end next month. The Canadian arm of the U.S. fast food giant announced Thursday it will resume its pre-pandemic policy of sourcing 100 per cent Canadian beef, starting […] Read more
Bovine TB probe wraps with no exact point of entry found
'More stringent' tests now being run on U.S. rodeo cattle imports
Federal inspectors have formally closed the book on a 2018 outbreak of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in a British Columbia cattle herd, but with “no definitive source of infection” found. The probe dates back to October that year, when a beef cow of an unknown age, from a cow-calf operation in B.C.’s southern Interior, was culled, […] Read more
U.S. investor to buy Prairie canola ‘streaming’ firm
All-cash deal offers $97.5 million for Input Capital
A U.S. investor has stepped forward with an all-cash bid for the Regina company that brought “streaming” to the Prairie canola marketing business. Input Capital, which in February last year began to review options such as a sale or merger to “enhance shareholder value,” said Wednesday it has a deal to sell all of itself […] Read more
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