With public funds in hand, Winnipeg agrifood firm Parrish and Heimbecker is set to build Ontario’s first new flour mill in three-quarters of a century, near the company’s grain terminal in Hamilton. The provincial government on Monday pledged a $5 million investment from the Food and Beverage Growth Fund arm of its $2.5 billion Jobs […] Read more
Province backs new Hamilton bulk flour mill
Yara to buy Agrium fertilizer upgrading plant
Canadian fertilizer firm Agrium has a buyer lined up for a U.S. nitrogen upgrading site it’s been looking to sell since April. Oslo-based fertilizer giant Yara said Thursday it’s made a deal to buy Agrium’s West Sacramento Nitrogen Operations plant for US$27 million (C$36 million) and use the facility instead as an import terminal for […] Read more
Maple Leaf to upgrade stunning process, ‘accelerate’ on sow housing
Pledging to upgrade its hog and poultry stunning processes, speed up its timeline on sow housing and step up its game on facility audits, livestock pain management and reduced antibiotic use, Maple Leaf Foods said Friday it’s now set to carve an animal care agenda into formal company policy. The major Canadian meat processor on […] Read more
Sask. widens wolf harvest pilot area
Last winter’s pilot project to push wolves back from ranches and farms in northeastern Saskatchewan will expand west this winter. Saskatchewan’s environment ministry on Wednesday announced a wolf hunt will run from Dec. 15 this year until March 31, 2016 in wildlife management zones (WMZs) 49 and 53. The wolf hunt pilot program ran from […] Read more
Que. dairyman named parliamentary ag secretary
Canada’s agriculture minister will get a Quebec dairyman and grain farmer turned rookie Liberal MP as his new parliamentary secretary. Jean-Claude Poissant, who won the re-formed Montreal-area riding of La Prairie for the Liberals on Oct. 19 by a spread of almost 5,900 votes over Bloc Quebecois contender Christian Picard, was named Wednesday as parliamentary […] Read more
Feed was ‘most plausible’ source of BSE in Case 19
Canada’s food safety agency is still tracking down the last herdmates of the country’s 19th domestic case of BSE, but will otherwise assume the Alberta cow most likely caught the disease from traces of proteins in its early feed. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Nov. 30 submitted its final report on Case 19 — […] Read more
Alta. to tweak farm worker bill for ‘clarity’
With consultations only just out of the gate and the legislation awaiting second reading, the Alberta government already plans to amend Bill 6, its farm and ranch worker protection bill, for “greater clarity.” While not mentioning recent vocal protests over the bill, provincial Labour Minister Lori Sigurdson announced Tuesday the bill will be amended to “make clear what […] Read more
Poultry, eggs from seven U.S. states still blocked at border
While the U.S. has declared itself free of high-path avian flu, Canada is still warning cross-border travellers not to bring in poultry or eggs from seven previously affected states. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on Thursday — a.k.a. Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. — rolled out a statement to remind travellers that Canada’s restrictions […] Read more
Alta. farm bill applies to paid workers only, minister says
UPDATED, Nov. 28, 2015 — New legislation applying Alberta’s rules on workplace standards and workers’ compensation to farm workers is meant for farms’ paid employees — not for family members or neighbours helping out on family farms. The province’s labour minister has said as much after stormy early going in the government’s consultations on Bill […] Read more
GTA police track down alleged cheesenappers
Three Toronto-area men face theft charges after a tractor trailer load of cheese took a late-night road trip in the wee hours Wednesday. The truckload of cheese had been reported stolen from the Brampton, Ont. area on Tuesday, York Regional Police said in a release. The YRP said they then got a call shortly after […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
