Parrish and Heimbecker’s existing grain elevator at Yorkton, Sask. (ParrishandHeimbecker.com)

P+H to replace eastern Saskatchewan elevator

New facility, loop track to be on line in mid-2022

Agrifood company Parrish and Heimbecker (P+H) plans to build a new and leaner grain elevator at Yorkton, Sask. to replace its 41-year-old facility there. The privately-held Winnipeg grain firm said Wednesday it has already started work on the new build, which it expects to have ready to receive grain in June next year. The existing […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Maple Leaf takes up Ontario poultry plant

Option exercised on Cericola Farms' remaining facility

A southern Ontario processing plant specializing in organic and antibiotic-free poultry products has gone to Maple Leaf Foods in a postscript to a previous sale. Toronto-based Maple Leaf announced Friday it had closed its purchase of the Sure Fresh Foods poultry plant at Schomberg, Ont., about 30 km north of Vaughan, for an undisclosed sum, […] Read more


(Exceldor video screengrab via YouTube)

Strike ends at Exceldor poultry plant in Quebec

Union members vote to take six-year deal

A month-long strike at one of Quebec’s biggest poultry slaughter and processing plants is ending after unionized workers voted to accept a new agreement reached through mediation. About 500 unionized workers at Exceldor Co-operative’s plant at Saint-Anselme, about 30 km southeast of Quebec City, have been on strike since May 23. The previous contract between […] Read more

Seasonal flu shots are recommended to help limit spread of flu viruses between people and livestock. (Inside Creative House/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Another swine flu variant case appears in Manitoba

Variant of H3N2 confirmed in southern Manitoba resident

A single and apparently isolated case of another influenza variant normally seen in hogs has turned up in a Manitoba resident, the province announced Monday. Manitoba Public Health on Monday said the H3N2 influenza variant (H3N2v) seen in this case is related to flu viruses that circulate in pigs, noting that while such viruses don’t […] Read more


(StockstudioX/E+/Getty Images)

Farm workers qualify for Alberta’s ‘critical worker’ benefit

Employers can apply starting Tuesday

Alberta has expanded the pool of workers eligible for its pandemic-related Critical Worker Benefit to include farm workers starting Tuesday (June 22). The province announced Tuesday that eligibility for the $1,200 payments would expand to more categories of workers who “provided critical services to Albertans, were essential to the supply and movement of goods, and […] Read more

Two Raven OMNiPower (formerly DOT) machines at work in the field. (RavenPrecision.com)

CNH to buy Raven Industries

Heavy equipment maker to pay US$2.1 billion for precision ag firm

The parent company behind Case IH, New Holland, Flexi-Coil and Steyr farm equipment is set to absorb a significant U.S. supplier of precision ag tech to its product lines and others. CNH Industrial on Monday announced a friendly all-cash agreement to buy up all shares in Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Raven Industries for about US$2.1 […] Read more


A vineyard at Naramata in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

B.C. again waives ag income threshold for farm properties

Some farms otherwise risked property tax reclassification

British Columbia farmers who’ve taken pandemic-induced losses in farm income will be able to keep their farm properties classified as such for another tax year. The province on Monday announced that for the second year running, it will waive the minimum farm income thresholds normally required for B.C. properties to be classified as farms for […] Read more

Lisa Thompson. (Lisathompsonmpp.ca video screengrab via YouTube)

Ontario names new ag minister in shuffle

Lisa Thompson replaces Ernie Hardeman

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has drawn another aggie from his existing cabinet to replace Ernie Hardeman as his agriculture minister. Ford on Friday announced a major cabinet shuffle, dropping Hardeman, the long-time MPP for Oxford, from the cabinet table and naming Lisa Thompson as minister for agriculture, food and rural affairs. Thompson, who until Friday […] Read more


A Pizza Pizza storefront in Winnipeg in 2013. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

Blue Cow comes to Pizza Pizza

Dairy Farmers of Canada branding to go on display

Pizza Pizza is the latest brand to sport Dairy Farmers of Canada’s “Blue Cow” certification-of-origin mark in its marketing, putting an old fight over the pizza chain’s cheese provenance to rest. DFC and Toronto-based, TSX-traded Pizza Pizza — which as of March 31 included 622 Pizza Pizza and 103 Pizza 73 outlets across eight provinces […] Read more

A DOT (now OmniPower) autonomous unit at work on the Olds College Smart Farm. (Olds College video screengrab via YouTube)

College farms, GFM Discovery Farm to get smarter together

Two Alberta colleges sign on for new CAAIN-backed network

A pair of Alberta college farms and Glacier FarmMedia’s Saskatchewan farm are the first to plug into a national network of “smart farms” to improve the ag sector’s smart technology experience. The Olds College Smart Farm will lead the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network, which will also include Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm at Langham, Sask. and […] Read more