The University of Guelph will get a raise for its agri-food and rural research and development through a five-year, $300 million funding agreement with its home province. Agriculture Minister Leona Dombrowsky on Monday announced the funding levels for 2009 to 2013 inclusive, as part of a 10-year agreement that’s subject to annual review and to […] Read more
U of Guelph ag funding renewed, raised
Alta. Liberals press for farm labour standards
Alberta’s provincial opposition is calling for the province’s labour standards code and job safety legislation to include farm workers. Liberal Leader Kevin Taft on Monday called for the Stelmach government to expand the Employment Standards Code and the Occupational Health and Safety Act to include protections for farm workers and adopt a farm safety program […] Read more
Viterra buys more U.S. feed mills
Canada’s biggest grain company is continuing its expansion into the southern U.S. feed milling industry. Viterra, whose Unifeed Hi-Pro feed division works under the name Hi-Pro Feeds in the U.S., will invest US$24.2 million to buy the feed milling assets of Gore Bros. and Gore’s Trucking. The companies, run by the Gore family of Texas […] Read more
Alta. food firms get help with safety standards
Small and medium-sized food processing companies in Alberta will soon have a simpler path to earn and keep up their food safety accreditation under a new federal/provincial program announced Friday. The provincial agriculture department and the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB), an arm of the federal public works department, have inked an agreement under which […] Read more
P.E.I. expands ALUS program provincewide
Prince Edward Island farmers and landowners who take on environmental preservation projects on their land may now be eligible for compensation under a new Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program. P.E.I.’s ALUS will operate on a $750,000 budget in 2008, the province announced Thursday. The concept was hailed by provincial environmental groups and other dignitaries […] Read more
Saskatoon ag marketing firm merges
Ag communications firm Heyday Communications will merge into the operations of The Marketing Den, a fellow Saskatoon ad and design agency, starting May 1. Heyday, whose ag clients have included Novozymes, UAP and Seed Hawk, as operated in Saskatoon since 1996, formed there by Rod Delahey. The Marketing Den, whose clients include Saskatchewan Crop Insurance […] Read more
Ontario U-pick’s web site honoured
A southern Ontario U-pick fruit operation has earned a North American award for its web site. Whittamore’s Farm, which bills itself as one of the largest U-pick and farm market operations in Ontario, earned the “Members’ Choice” award for outstanding web site, during the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association convention in February in Wisconsin. […] Read more
Canada free of “high-path” bird flu: OIE
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) now considers Canada free of highly pathogenic avian flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported Friday. The OIE’s notification follows the end of a 90-day period after the cleanup of the most recent outbreak of the H7N3 strain of avian influenza on a poultry farm near Regina Beach, […] Read more
Quebec puts up $5M to boost food exports
Quebec’s provincial government says it will boost the funding it provides to ag export agencies as part of its response to the provincial commission on the future of farming. Agriculture Minister Laurent Lessard, speaking Friday at the Salon international de l’alimentation (SIAL) trade show in Montreal, pledged $5 million to support companies that export Quebec […] Read more
Canada, Korea working toward beef deal: report
“Working-level” talks are reportedly underway to set up negotiations between Ottawa and Seoul to resume Canadian beef exports to South Korea. Korean news agency Yonhap reported Wednesday that Canada is asking for “unfettered access” to South Korea’s beef market after Seoul agreed last week to loosen its ban on U.S. beef imports. The report quoted […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
