Ontario’s Farm Products Marketing Commission has been ordered to change its approach on proposals to deregulate vegetable contract talks between growers and processors. Provincial Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal, in a letter dated Wednesday to commission chair Geri Kamenz, said “concerns have been raised about an apparent lack of both adequate and sufficient information and consultation […] Read more
Ontario’s Leal jumps in on vegetable marketing proposal
Canada books bigger beef cattle herd
New estimates from Statistics Canada show the country’s cattle producers hanging onto more breeding stock and holding more calves as of July 1 compared to the same date last year. StatsCan’s livestock estimates as of July 1, released Thursday, showed 13.2 million cattle on Canadian farms as of July 1, up 1.3 per cent from […] Read more
Ardent’s organic wheat program expands to Saskatchewan
U.S. flour processor Ardent Mills’ plan to double organic wheat acres in the U.S. by 2019 has rolled into Saskatchewan. Ardent, the joint North American flour venture of agrifood firms Cargill, CHS Inc. and ConAgra, said Wednesday it has so far expanded “Organic Initiative 2019,” which it launched in December, to seven U.S. states plus […] Read more
Richardson cranking up canola crush, throughput at Lethbridge
Agrifood firm Richardson International plans to put up $120 million to dial up the processing capacity of its canola crushing plant in southern Alberta by over 55 per cent. Privately-held, Winnipeg-based Richardson said Wednesday the new upgrades at its Lethbridge plant are expected to boost its peak annual crush to over 700,000 tonnes of canola per year, […] Read more
Fletcher’s brand returns to Premium Brands
The Vancouver food processing firm formerly known as Fletcher’s Fine Foods is set to buy back the namesake brand it sold in 2004. Premium Brands, which rebranded in 2000 and sold its U.S.-based Fletcher’s Fine Foods bacon and sausage business to Sofina Foods, announced Monday it will buy the Fletcher’s U.S. business and assets for […] Read more
ALUS program expands to Quebec
The Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program has made its move into a sixth province with a new project in Quebec’s Monteregie. ALUS Canada, working with the Monteregie branch of Quebec’s Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), formally launched the program Wednesday at its first Quebec location, a farm near St-Jean-Baptiste, south of St-Hyacinthe. ALUS, in […] Read more
Livestock water supplies still a concern after oil spill
While cleanup and water testing continue on the North Saskatchewan River, livestock producers with river access are still advised to find alternate water sources. Jenifer Heyden, livestock specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture in North Battleford, said ministry staffers and Husky Energy did work with a few producers who were having trouble accessing alternate water sources, to […] Read more
Bunge crush plant taking deliveries after fire
U.S. agrifood firm Bunge’s canola crushing plant at Nipawin in northeastern Saskatchewan is taking deliveries from farmers following an Aug. 2 fire. Bunge spokesperson Deb Seidel said via email Tuesday the plant is “partially operational” and the company expects it to be fully operational in about a month. Local media last week quoted fire officials […] Read more
Olymel to pool Quebec hog processing partnerships
A pair of hog packing and processing plants in Quebec’s Mauricie region are set to join forces through their common business partner for a major expansion. Olymel, the meat packing and processing arm of Quebec’s Coop Federee, announced Tuesday it has sealed a partnership deal with livestock producer and processor Groupe Robitaille. That deal, first […] Read more
Olymel to consolidate ham work next fall
The meat packing arm of Quebec’s La Coop federee plans to shut down major ham lines at one of its further-processing plants in the province next year, cutting up to 340 jobs. Olymel said Friday it will halt ham deboning at its St-Hyacinthe plant in September 2017, eliminating 340 positions. Ham deboning work, until now […] Read more
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