The accepted wisdom about the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), and its ability to survive in hog blood products used in piglet feed, is being tested this week in Winnipeg. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced Tuesday it is running tests to see if feed pellets made using hog plasma from a U.S. supplier have […] Read more
CFIA testing piglet feed for PEDv infectiveness
Ben + Jerry’s to go full non-GMO by mid-year
Premium ice cream maker Ben + Jerry’s plans to soon pull any genetically modified (GMO) ingredients from its supply lines in both Canada and the U.S. The Vermont-based company, which makes and sells ice cream in over two dozen countries through major retailers and its chain of ice cream shops, and last year pledged to […] Read more
Landmark to test feed ingredient for PEDv
Livestock and poultry feed processing firm Landmark Feeds is tightening its feed ingredient sourcing as suspicion falls on feed ingredients as possible sources of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv). Manitoba-based Landmark, owned by feed firm Nutreco since 2007, said Friday the outbreak of PEDv on “at least 10” of the 16 affected farms in […] Read more
PEDv suspected on Manitoba hog farm
Winnipeg’s National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease is testing samples from a Manitoba wean-to-finish hog operation suspected of having the province’s first case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv). The Manitoba Pork Council late Thursday announced that the province’s chief veterinary officer had reported what are believed to be positive samples of PEDv from hogs […] Read more
Co-op, Overwaitea to buy 29 grocery stores in West
Thirty grocery stores across Western Canada are set to change hands in the wake of Sobeys’ takeover of Canada Safeway. Sobeys Inc. on Thursday announced it has reached separate deals with Overwaitea Food Group and Federated Co-operatives for the sale of 15 and 14 stores respectively. The stores to be sold include 22 of 23 […] Read more
Scoular frozen out of Sask. grain handling plan
A Toronto company building a commodity logistics hub in Saskatchewan’s southeast corner has cut its ties with the U.S. agrifood firm set to bankroll the hub’s planned grain elevator. Toronto’s Ceres Global Ag Corp. announced Thursday it has “terminated its arrangements” with The Scoular Co. and will instead bring the design and development of the […] Read more
New standard to define icewine in Canada
If it’s not made only with grapes naturally frozen on the vine, it can’t be called icewine. As obvious as it may seem, a new move to enshrine that notion in the federal Agricultural Products Act is expected to ease and boost exports of Canada’s most lucrative wines and weed out any pretenders claiming to […] Read more
Mexican bakery giant to buy Canada Bread
The reported frontrunner to buy Canada Bread is now officially the Canadian bakery firm’s buyer of choice. Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo on Wednesday announced a cash deal to buy all shares of Canada Bread Co. for $72 per share, or about $1.83 billion, accruing mainly to Canada Bread’s 90 per cent owner, meat processor Maple Leaf […] Read more
Flaherty’s budget to expand livestock tax deferrals to bees
Plans to bring beekeepers in on income deferrals available to certain livestock breeders, and to further expand rural broadband, are among the pre-Valentine’s Day candies for farmers in Tuesday’s federal budget. Federal budgets in recent years have been relatively light on line items meant directly for farmers, as ag program funding is largely locked into […] Read more
Feed firm purging hog-based ingredients over PED risk
A southern Ontario feed processor wants customers to stop feeding its nursery feeds to young hogs, over concerns that feeds made with hog-based ingredients can be a “potential vector” for the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv). PEDv, a contagious disease leading to death rates of up to 100 per cent in young piglets and is […] Read more
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