The Canadian Young Farmers’ Forum has signed a three-year deal in which Monsanto Canada will put up cash and in-kind support for leadership and training programs for young farmers. The CYFF is a professional development group for farmers between ages 18 and 40 to provide a forum for information, consolidate young farmer opinion, and offer […] Read more
Monsanto to back Young Farmers Forum
Ottawa puts up $300K for Man. biodiesel project
The federal government’s Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative (BOPI) will put up $300,000 for a biodiesel project at Altona in southern Manitoba, the company announced Tuesday. Sunbelt BioFuels Ltd. will get the maximum BOPI funding allowed, to be put toward planning its proposed 113.6 million-litre-per-year canola biodiesel plant. The funding, administered by the Manitoba Rural […] Read more
R-CALF files for “Rule 2” injunction
R-CALF USA, a legal-action group of northern-state ranchers and cattlemen, has asked a U.S. district court for an injunction to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new rule allowing imports of older Canadian cattle before the rule can take effect. The group, along with 10 other plaintiffs, filed a complaint against the so-called “Rule 2” […] Read more
Ottawa puts up $46M to fight plum pox
Ontario’s tender fruit (peach, plum, apricot, nectarine) industry will get aid and further surveillance from a new federal/provincial venture to eradicate plum pox. The federal and Ontario governments announced the funding Monday. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada will put up $36.16 million over four years, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency $9.44 million, “to continue the […] Read more
Celiac researcher among agri-food honourees
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
Churchill posts near-record traffic
The owners of Manitoba’s northern grain port at Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway have set a 2008 goal of a million tonnes of traffic through the port. OmniTrax, the Denver company that runs the port and rail line serving it, set the target Monday, as port officials announced that the port handled 621,000 tonnes, […] Read more
USDA tightens testing on Canadian meat
Citing concerns over testing practices at the ill-fated Rancher’s Beef plant near Calgary, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Saturday that it will increase testing for E. coli O157:H7, listeria and salmonella on imports of meat and poultry from Canada, starting this week. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said shipments tapped for inspection […] Read more
Summer’s worth of Rancher’s Beef recalled
The now-closed Rancher’s Beef Ltd. near Calgary, working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, has announced a recall of all beef distributed from its Balzac, Alta. plant between June 8 and Aug. 15 this year. The recall is of all products distributed directly to the company’s corporate clients in Canada, including distributors, processors and “a […] Read more
N.B. adds programs for hog farmers
New Brunswick’s provincial government will put up $150,000 to help hog farmers audit and adapt their farms to handle new market opportunities. The Hog Industry Enhancement and Renewal Initiative, announced Friday, will support: production audits by professionals such as veterinarians, engineers or agrologists, to assess requirements needed to meet new market possibilities, for 75 per […] Read more
Canada, U.S. cut red tape on processing potatoes
Already each other’s largest export markets for potatoes, Canada and the U.S. on Thursday concluded new agreements that Ottawa said will further smooth cross-border trade in potatoes for processing or further-repackaging. The “Technical Arrangement Concerning Trade in Potatoes” came into effect Thursday and will be phased in over three years. It includes mutual recognition of […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
