A livestock marketplace in which a few large corporations “heavily influence” both the farm gate and retail prices paid for livestock and meat have led to the collapse in returns to livestock producers, the National Farmers Union said Tuesday. The rising value of the Canadian dollar against U.S. currency is “just a small factor” in […] Read more
“Dysfunctional” markets caused livestock price drop: NFU
Potato biogas plant could kill feed source: CBC
Cattlemen on Prince Edward Island fear they could lose a cheap feed source when the Irving Group’s Cavendish Farms potato plant starts using its peelings to generate biogas for heating. P.E.I. Cattlemen’s Association president Darlene Sanford told CBC News on Wednesday that most cattlemen in the province use potato waste from processors as feed for […] Read more
Ottawa backs Alta. biodiesel plant with $639K
Western Biodiesel, a 19 million-litre-per-year biodiesel project using canola oil and rendered beef tallow, has picked up $638,559 in federal funding toward the $8 million project cost. The project at Aldersyde, just south of Calgary, will also get $275,000 in direct equity investment from farmers, the federal government noted in a release Tuesday. The funding […] Read more
Monsanto to back Young Farmers Forum
The Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum has signed a three-year deal in which Monsanto Canada will put up cash and in-kind support for leadership and training programs for young farmers. The CYFF is a professional development group for farmers between ages 18 and 40 to provide a forum for information, consolidate young farmer opinion, and offer […] Read more
Ottawa puts up $300K for Man. biodiesel project
The federal government’s Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative (BOPI) will put up $300,000 for a biodiesel project at Altona in southern Manitoba, the company announced Tuesday. Sunbelt BioFuels Ltd. will get the maximum BOPI funding allowed, to be put toward planning its proposed 113.6 million-litre-per-year canola biodiesel plant. The funding, administered by the Manitoba Rural […] Read more
R-CALF files for “Rule 2” injunction
R-CALF USA, a legal-action group of northern-state ranchers and cattlemen, has asked a U.S. district court for an injunction to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new rule allowing imports of older Canadian cattle before the rule can take effect. The group, along with 10 other plaintiffs, filed a complaint against the so-called “Rule 2” […] Read more
Ottawa puts up $46M to fight plum pox
Ontario’s tender fruit (peach, plum, apricot, nectarine) industry will get aid and further surveillance from a new federal/provincial venture to eradicate plum pox. The federal and Ontario governments announced the funding Monday. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will put up $36.16 million over four years, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency $9.44 million, “to continue the […] Read more
Celiac researcher among agri-food honourees
An oat researcher known for his work adapting oats into food for sufferers of celiac disease was among those honoured Monday as the winners of the annual Canadian Agri-Food Awards of Excellence. Ontario oat breeder Vernon Burrows, who has registered 27 varieties in his career, is a well-known volunteer with the Canadian Celiac Association, which […] Read more
Churchill posts near-record traffic
The owners of Manitoba’s northern grain port at Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway have set a 2008 goal of a million tonnes of traffic through the port. OmniTrax, the Denver company that runs the port and rail line serving it, set the target Monday, as port officials announced that the port handled 621,000 tonnes, […] Read more
USDA tightens testing on Canadian meat
Citing concerns over testing practices at the ill-fated Rancher’s Beef plant near Calgary, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Saturday that it will increase testing for E. coli O157:H7, listeria and salmonella on imports of meat and poultry from Canada, starting this week. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said shipments tapped for inspection […] Read more
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