Frozen food giant McCain Foods plans to build a $150 million processing plant in the U.S. Pacific northwest, but won’t yet say where or how big. The New Brunswick-based company issued a release Wednesday saying its facility would be designed to make French fries and potato specialties mostly for food service and quick-service restaurant customers […] Read more
McCain plans potato plant in U.S. northwest
Sask. poultry farmers press for flu cleanup funds
The cost burden for cleaning up poultry farms after outbreaks of avian flu shouldn’t be left to affected farmers alone, Saskatchewan’s poultry groups said Tuesday. The poultry groups, pooling their resources under the banner of the Saskatchewan Poultry Industry Emergency Management Team (SPIEMT), said Tuesday that they had raised $100,000 to help a farmer in […] Read more
Cargill to shut NW Sask. elevator
Cargill plans to close its grain elevator and farm service centre at Cut Knife, Sask., effective Dec. 31. Services offered to Cargill customers at Cut Knife (about 60 km west of North Battleford) are to be transferred to three “regional” Cargill facilities: its expanded operation at North Battleford, its ag input dealership at Unity, Sask. […] Read more
Ont. to invest $10M in E. coli vaccine maker
Ontario’s provincial government will make a $10 million investment in Bioniche Life Sciences’ expansion plans for commercial-scale production of its E. coli vaccine for cattle. The company owns the rights to worldwide commercialization of the vaccine, which Bioniche said can prevent E. coli O157:H7 from colonizing in cattle’s digestive systems and can reduce the amount […] Read more
Sask. repeals potash expropriation powers
The Saskatchewan government plans to officially dump a 32-year-old law that granted it powers to expropriate private potash assets. Premier Brad Wall’s government, which took office from the previous NDP administration last month, on Monday introduced legislation to repeal the provincial Potash Development Act. The repeal will take away the government’s ability to nationalize the […] Read more
P.E.I. cattlemen name new commodity board
Six Prince Edward Island cattlemen have been named by acclamation to sit on the province’s new cattle commodity board. The Prince Edward Island Cattle Producers Board, created as a commodity board in January this year, was initially led by the directors of the P.E.I. Cattlemen’s Association on the date that the regulation for the new […] Read more
WTO panel investigating U.S. subsidies
Complaints from Canada and Brazil against the United States’ domestic farm support programs are now under formal investigation by a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement body. News services and stakeholders reported Monday that the WTO panel had officially launched its investigation into the multi-billion-dollar U.S. subsidy regime. Canada’s federal government announced in November that […] Read more
CFIA finds Canada’s 11th mad cow
A 13-year-old beef cow from Alberta was confirmed Tuesday as Canada’s latest case of mad cow disease (BSE). The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported that the animal’s carcass is under CFIA control and no part of it entered the food or feed system. The agency also assured in a press release that this case […] Read more
Feds to toughen food safety penalties
Heavier fines for food safety violations and stronger recall powers are among the new measures for food, health and consumer product safety that the federal government plans to legislate in the new year. Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the government’s plans Monday in Ottawa, starting with a dialogue with consumer and industry stakeholders in early […] Read more
B.C. taxman to review “farm” status
British Columbia’s revenue minister has launched a review of what qualifies as a farm for local tax purposes. Rick Thorpe announced Monday that a review panel, including representatives from local governments, farmers, BC Assessment and the agriculture, revenue, finance and community services departments, will perform a “comprehensive consultation” with local government and a cross-section of […] Read more
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