Wagyu beef on skewers at a Tokyo market. (Michal_Staniewski/iStock/Getty Images)

Japan now accepting Canadian OTM beef

The last of Japan’s BSE-related restrictions on Canadian beef are lifted as of last Friday, with the Japanese government’s agreement to allow beef from Canadian cattle over 30 months of age (OTMs). Citing industry estimates, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said the added access announced Tuesday could mean an increase of up to 20 per cent […] Read more

(Bovins.qc.ca)

Quebec cattle producers join national body

Quebec’s cattle producer group is now the ninth provincial member cattle organization in the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. Les producteurs de bovins du Quebec (PBQ) announced its membership in the CCA during the provincial body’s annual meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Quebec City. “At a time when new frontiers are continually opening up and our buyers […] Read more


David Haywood-Farmer. (We Heart Local BC video screengrab via YouTube)

New chief acclaimed for national cattle producer group

A former president of the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association is the new president of the national cattle producers’ body. David Haywood-Farmer was elected by acclamation as president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association at the group’s annual general meeting last week in Ottawa. Haywood-Farmer, a cow-calf producer at Savona, B.C., about 40 km west of Kamloops, was […] Read more

(Photo courtesy General Mills via Flickr)

Cheerios to remove ‘gluten-free’ claim

The maker of Cheerios cereal is pulling a controversial “gluten-free” claim from the product’s Canadian packaging starting in 2018, over what it says is a lack of a “consistent” testing protocol for oat products. General Mills announced last week it will remove the “gluten-free” claim from Cheerios sold in Canada starting in January, though it […] Read more





(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Cattle producers urge trade fight if Trump revives COOL

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian cattle producers will urge Ottawa to retaliate against the U.S. if the incoming Trump administration imposes a meat labelling program it views as discriminatory, restarting a six-year trade battle, an industry group said on Wednesday. U.S. news network CNN reported on Tuesday that a memo drafted by President-elect Donald Trump’s […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Worker shortfall a three per cent hit for farms: Study

Having the Canadian economy’s highest job vacancy rate has cost the country’s primary ag sector three per cent of its value, new research shows. The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council on Tuesday released labour market information (LMI) research which, based on data for 2014, pegged primary agriculture’s annual farm cash receipt losses at $1.5 billion, […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. COOL rules formally off beef, pork

The U.S. Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has formally patched a long-sore spot in cross-border trade relations by pulling its country-of-origin labelling (COOL) regulations off beef and pork. The AMS, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), published its amendments Wednesday in the U.S. Federal Register. The changes, which took effect upon publication, mean […] Read more