The company behind about a quarter of the world’s frozen French fries plans to ramp up demand from New Brunswick potato growers with a line capacity upgrade at its recently expanded plant there. McCain Foods announced Aug. 27 it will put up another $12 million to add capacity to its Florenceville, N.B. plant’s French fry […] Read more
McCain to dial up fry production in New Brunswick
Ag sector growth will take investments in skills, tech now: RBC
One of Canada’s big six banks bets the agriculture sector’s gross domestic product could rise by nearly 60 per cent over the next decade if it were to have enough people, capital and access to new technology where ag lives. A report released by RBC on Tuesday titled “Farmer 4.0” estimates Canadian ag GDP could […] Read more
Ceres closes on option to buy Delmar Commodities
U.S. commodities firm Ceres Global Ag Corp. has exercised its option and closed its deal to buy Manitoba grain merchandising firm Delmar Commodities. Ceres announced Friday it has completed the deal to buy all of Delmar’s shares for about $15.25 million in cash and assume about $7.6 million in existing term debt. The Minneapolis firm […] Read more
Calgary to step out of Federated Co-op grocery system
Calgary Co-op’s grocery business plans to get all its goods from suppliers other than Federated Co-operatives (FCL) starting in April next year. Saskatoon-based FCL said Thursday it had received notice from Calgary Co-operative Association that it would “discontinue the procurement of all products for their grocery stores from FCL” at that time. The Saskatoon StarPhoenix […] Read more
Elanco buys swine PWD vaccine maker
Veterinary drugmaker Elanco Animal Health is expanding its space in the swine sector with a deal to buy the Quebec startup behind Coliprotec vaccines. Indianapolis-based Elanco announced Thursday it has paid $78.5 million to buy Prevtec Microbia, which is headquartered in Montreal with facilities in St-Hyacinthe. The Coliprotec line is meant to help protect pigs […] Read more
Ag ministers aim for AgriStability upgrades for 2020
Coming out of their meeting in Quebec City, Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial ministers for agriculture say they plan to meet again before year’s end to see about improving the AgriStability program for 2020. In a statement Friday, the ministers said they discussed “adjustments that could improve existing (business risk management) programs to address the […] Read more
Consultations begin online for replacing Alberta’s Bill 6
A new online survey and direct consultations this summer are expected to inform the new Alberta government’s plans to swap out its predecessor’s legislation on farm and ranch worker protection. Alberta’s governing United Conservatives — who made repeal and replacement of Bill 6 a core plank of their platform before unseating the NDP government back […] Read more
Manitoba grain firm Delmar Commodities on the block
Delmar Commodities is set to be sold to Ceres Global Ag, an integrated commodity group with operations throughout North America. The Winkler, Man. grain, oilseed and processing firm was founded by Martin Harder in 1995 from castoff elevators during the grain sector’s consolidation push at the time. Harder left the firm in 2010, selling his […] Read more
China to ramp up inspections on all Canadian meat imports
Customs agents in China now plan to open all containers of inbound Canadian meat and meat products and will inspect up to 100 per cent of their contents, Reuters reported Tuesday. The news agency quoted a notice from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada which said the Canadian embassy in Beijing had been informed of the boost […] Read more
Federal ‘Product of Canada’ food guidelines under review
Food processors wanting to make “Product of Canada” or “Made in Canada” label claims for their wares might not have to be as strict on their use of Canadian ingredients, under proposed changes to labelling guidelines. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday announced public consultations and a public comment period, to run until June […] Read more
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