General

An oat researcher known for his work adapting oats into food for sufferers of celiac disease was among those honoured Monday as the winners of the annual Canadian Agri-Food Awards of Excellence. Ontario oat breeder Vernon Burrows, who has registered 27 varieties in his career, is a well-known volunteer with the Canadian Celiac Association, which […] Read more

Independent grocery store owners and managers can get training on an in-store food safety system through the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG), backed by almost $285,000 in federal funding. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced the funding Tuesday in Ottawa. CFIG’s program will train store owners and managers to introduce the Hazard Analysis Critical […] Read more

Organic food and “natural” products retailer Planet Organic Health Corp. posted a 16 per cent increase in net income on a 47 per cent rise in sales this fiscal year, the company said Tuesday. The Edmonton company owns 74 stores in North America, including eight Planet Organic supermarkets in Canada and 11 Mrs. Green’s Natural […] Read more

British Columbia’s provincial government has proposed an electoral district system that will keep rural representation in its legislative assembly at a set level while allowing for more MLAs in areas seeing population growth. Amendments introduced Wednesday will direct the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission to recommend 87 electoral districts, up from 79 today. From those 87, […] Read more

Health Canada has put up a new searchable database of food and children’s product recalls for Canadian consumers. The site, at www.healthycanadians.gc.ca, includes separate listings of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s food alerts and recalls, Health Canada’s children’s toy and product recalls and a search function to check for specific products. The food recall listing, […] Read more

The agricultural index in Scotiabank’s Commodity Price Index jumped 6.7 per cent month-over-month during September, helping pull the commodity index out of a three-month decline. Patricia Mohr, the company’s vice-president of economics and commodity market specialist, wrote in a research report Wednesday that agriculture and energy helped the overall index — which gauges commodities’ performance […] Read more

With eyes on a possible free trade deal, the federal government wants to hear from Canadians on their views and experiences dealing with the kingdom of Jordan. A call for consultations, issued Monday, stems from talks in July between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, where the two countries agreed to study […] Read more

Farm groups say they’re looking forward to movement on some or all of the farming-related points in last night’s federal Speech from the Throne, but also wonder about the government’s plans on issues left unmentioned. The speech, delivered Tuesday evening by Governor General Michaelle Jean on the Tory government’s behalf, included brief mentions of several […] Read more

Alberta will soon launch a provincial farm recovery plan with $165 million in “transitional” payments to help offset its farmers’ rising feed, fuel and fertilizer costs. Agriculture Minister George Groeneveld announced in a release today that the province will start delivery of the farm recovery plan (AFRP) for eligible farmers in early November, to be […] Read more