Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has re-appointed the three newly re-elected MPPs in charge of the province’s farm and rural portfolios back to Cabinet. Hastings-Frontenac Lennox MPP Leona Dombrowsky, who represents the Napanee and Belleville area, was returned Tuesday as minister for agriculture, food and rural affairs, a post she’s held since 2005. Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Maria […] Read more
McGuinty re-appoints farm cabinet
Bevo Agro gets reprieve on loan
B.C.-based greenhouse supply firm Bevo Agro Inc. has been granted another three months to pay back a $5 million bond that matured Sept. 24. Bevo Agro propagates and supplies vegetable, flower, berry and other seedlings to greenhouse operators, field growers and nurseries, including a substantial customer base in the U.S. The company said Monday that […] Read more
New secretary for N.L. ag minister
St. John’s-area MHA Kathy Dunderdale was re-appointed Tuesday as Newfoundland and Labrador’s minister responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency and natural resources after the Oct. 9 provincial election. Premier Danny Williams on Tuesday also appointed a new parliamentary secretary to Dunderdale for the forestry and agrifoods file. Harry Harding, the member of the House […] Read more
Quebec hog farmers may get early advance
Quebec’s provincial farm finance agency is considering an early advance on the insurance program advances it provides to hog farmers. In a release Friday, La Financiere agricole said that after meeting with the hog farmers’ association, la Federation des producteurs de porcs, and taking into account the current situation in the hog sector, it would […] Read more
B.C. vets funded to review foreign credentials
British Columbia’s veterinary medical association will get funding to improve how it assesses credentials and approves licenses, in order to import new veterinarians from other countries. The province on Monday announced about $497,000 for 17 professional regulatory bodies to improve those assessments and licensing practices, after making the offer to those professional bodies through a […] Read more
Alta. farmers beat EFP uptake goal
Alberta farmers have beaten their province’s target for completing Environmental Farm Plans (EFPs). The federal and provincial governments reported Friday that over 7,000 Alberta farmers had completed EFPs. That’s above a provincial target of 6,500 for 2007-08, as noted in the provincial agriculture department’s business plan in March this year. According to that plan, the […] Read more
Ranchers Beef investigation leads to B.C. recall
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s E. coli investigation of shuttered beef packing co-op Ranchers Beef Ltd. has so far led it to British Columbia, where it’s ordered a recall of six different package types of burgers and chuck. The recalled products listed by CFIA include boneless chuck steak and ground beef sold at Shoppers Wholesale […] Read more
CFIA suspects link in E. coli cases nationwide
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is looking into “possible linkages” between 45 cases of E. coli-related illness this summer from B.C. to New Brunswick — and that involves “actively investigating” a closed meat plant in Alberta. CFIA and the Public Health Agency of Canada, in an information bulletin issued late Friday, said they will examine […] Read more
Alta. government to rethink water licensing policy
Alberta’s provincial environment department won’t accept any applications for amendments of water licenses while it re-examines that policy for the South Saskatchewan River basin. The moratorium on amendment applications comes after a request in August from the Eastern Irrigation District, based at Brooks, for an amendment that would allow the district to deliver water “for […] Read more
Corn trait wins EU approval: Monsanto
A European Union decision to allow imports of a Monsanto corn variety that “stacks” traits for corn borer resistance and Roundup herbicide tolerance is good news for Canadian corn growers, the company said Thursday. Monsanto reported that the EU will allow its YieldGard Corn Borer (MON 810) hybrid varieties for food and feed use. The […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
