

Doing livestock research and innovation right in Ontario
The new CEO of the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation shares his thoughts on the organization’s direction
Mike McMorris, the new CEO of Ontario’s Livestock Research Innovation Corporation (LRIC), is a firm believer in systems research — finding ways to leverage better results through collaboration and making connections across species. He’s also focused on better co-ordinating research services, making sure member organizations receive value for their investments and digging deeper into the […] Read more

Grain World: Geopolitics is back dominating global relations
Saskatoon | MarketsFarm — Geopolitics is again shaping the international scene, including China, Jason Shapiro explained here Thursday at the Grain World conference. Geopolitics, he said, resulted in catastrophic global wars and generated very little peace for close to a century. Shapiro, director of analysis for Geopolitical Futures — an Austin, Tex.-based international risk analysis […] Read more

KFC tests plant-based ‘fried chicken’ in Ontario
Fast-food chicken chain KFC is collecting feedback from a one-day, one-store test of a new Canadian-made plant-based “fried chicken” product for the Canadian market. The Canadian arm of the Yum Brands-owned chain set up a “limited” test run for what it calls KFC Plant-Based Fried Chicken at its 6055 Creditview Rd. store in Mississauga, Ont. […] Read more

The complicated life of an ionophore
Ron Clarke outlines the basics of how these widely used feed additives work
Ionophores are a class of compounds frequently talked about in animal nutrition, yet infrequently understood by many. First marketed in the 1960s and derived from soil-borne organisms, ionophores are best described as feed additives that reversibly bind ions — chemical entities possessing an electric charge — then subsequently facilitate their transport across membranes. Commonly used […] Read more

Bloc Quebecois president tapped as party’s ag critic
The Bloc Quebecois will head into the House of Commons next month with a new critic handling the agriculture portfolio. Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has named Yves Perron, the rookie MP for Berthier-Maskinonge, as the party’s critic for agriculture, agri-food and supply management. As the Bloc’s ag critic, Perron replaces Mirabel MP Simon Marcil, who […] Read more

Brazil gets approval for 13 meatpacking plants for China exports
Sao Paulo | Brazil | Reuters – Chinese authorities approved new Brazilian meat exporting plants on Tuesday, according to the Brazilian agriculture ministry, a highly anticipated move as the two nations continue to strengthen trade ties. The approvals come as China seeks to increase meat imports to compensate for the death of around half of […] Read more

China reshapes global meat markets as swine fever rages
London | Beijing | Reuters – China is scouring the world for meat to replace the millions of pigs killed by African swine fever (ASF), boosting prices, business and profits for European and South American meatpackers as it re-shapes global markets for pork, beef and chicken. The European Union, the world’s second largest pork producer […] Read more

Behind Maple Leaf Foods’ bold call to become carbon neutral
Maple Leaf Foods wants to be carbon neutral for one reason. Its emphasis is no longer about supply-side economics but rather about listening to and serving a market in desperate need of attention
Maple Leaf Foods is not just pretending to be environmentally friendly, it is trying to be a trailblazer in the wild kingdom of proteins. The company has just adopted science-based targets that will help it become the first major agrifood company in the world to be carbon neutral. Clearly motivated by the carbon tax and […] Read more

The economics of raising ‘natural’ beef
Researchers are comparing conventional and other backgrounding systems and crunching the numbers
How much of a premium do producers need to cover the extra cost of backgrounding cattle without growth-enhancing technologies and can they offset some of that cost or improve carcass quality with other strategies? Researchers are currently studying those very questions in a 2.5-year backgrounding study. The backgrounding project is one of many feeding research […] Read more

China, France sign deals worth $15 bln during visit
Beijing | Reuters – China and France signed contracts totalling $15 billion during a visit by President Emmanuel Macron, a Chinese government official told a news briefing on Wednesday. Deals were struck in the fields of aeronautics, energy and agriculture, including approval for 20 French companies to export poultry, beef and pork to China. They also agreed to expand […] Read more