New Brunswick farmers who employ temporary foreign workers (TFWs) are calling for the provincial government to reverse its new COVID-19-related ban on entry of TFWs who haven’t yet arrived. The provincial government on Tuesday updated a mandatory order under its pandemic state of emergency to restrict TFWs from entering the province. The new restriction doesn’t […] Read more
New Brunswick ag groups rip province’s ban on foreign workers
Risk during pandemic 'simply too great,' premier says
Major Ontario pork packer expects to re-open Monday
Conestoga Meats went offline April 27
The hog slaughter and processing plant billed as Ontario’s second-biggest pork producer expects to be back in business Monday after a week-long COVID-19-related shutdown. Conestoga Meats, based at Breslau, just east of Kitchener, notified hog farmers and shippers on Friday that it would suspend “most operations” during the week of April 27 to May 1, […] Read more
Canada’s Farm Show postponed
New date not yet set for former Farm Progress Show
One of Canada’s biggest agricultural events has crossed itself off the 2020 summer calendar due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Canada’s Farm Show, which rebranded in December from its former Canada’s Farm Progress Show identity, announced Monday it has officially postponed to an as-yet unconfirmed date. The annual show, organized by the Regina Exhibition Association (REAL), […] Read more
P.E.I. plans AgriStability top-up, AgriInsurance discount
Province also pledges potato storage funding
Prince Edward Island’s response to COVID-19 includes plans to pump up its farmers’ coverage level under the federal/provincial AgriStability income stabilization program. The P.E.I. government on Thursday announced a support package for farmers including $8.8 million over two years in additional business risk management (BRM) program funds. That includes paying the provincial portion of the […] Read more
Saskatchewan to bump up AgriStability interim payouts
Allowable percentage of final benefit raised
Saskatchewan farmers hoping to boost cash flow with an AgriStability interim payment can now apply to get up to three-quarters of their final payment for 2020. The Saskatchewan and federal governments announced an agreement Friday to increase the 2020 AgriStability interim benefit payment percentage to 75 per cent for producers in that province, up from […] Read more
Calgary Stampede cancelled for 2020
Province's limits on gatherings cover all major summer events
Alberta’s confirmation that its restrictions on gatherings include all annual summer events has led organizers of the Calgary Stampede to cancel the event for the first time in 97 years. “As a community celebration, the cancellation of our annual event comes with our community and public health and safety front of mind,” Stampede president Dana […] Read more
Vancouver health officials shut poultry processor
COVID-19 hits at least 28 employees
Health officials in Vancouver have closed a federally inspected poultry plant in that city after confirming an outbreak of COVID-19 so far affecting over two dozen employees. The public health arm of Vancouver Coastal Health, the regional health authority for the greater Vancouver area, on Tuesday declared a COVID-19 outbreak among staff at United Poultry […] Read more
Pig farmers seek aid of $20 per hog against market crash
Losses of $675 million expected from COVID-19-related causes
Canada’s hog producers seek an immediate federal cash injection equivalent to $20 per hog against a market crash that’s expected to cost their sector about $675 million overall. Officials with the Canadian Pork Council on Thursday called for Ottawa to provide further aid to hog farmers who are now expecting to lose $30 to more […] Read more
Canadian farmland trending less affordable in FCC report
Average values continue rising across board
The average value of farmland in Canada is continuing to rise faster than farmers’ ability to generate revenue from it, Farm Credit Canada’s latest Farmland Values Report suggests. The report, released Monday, shows the average value of Canadian farmland rose 5.2 per cent in 2019 over 2018, the smallest year-over-year increase since 2010, and down […] Read more
Wendy’s launches Canadian-made plant-based burger
Pea protein patty developed 'in-house,' company says
Burger chain Wendy’s has set out to meet what it says is now an “expectation” in the Canadian quick-service dining sector, with a new pulse crop-based burger. The U.S. chain’s Canadian arm on Thursday announced it has launched a plant-based burger it calls the Plantiful at its 380-plus Canadian stores, using a patty it described […] Read more
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