(KTSimage/iStock/Getty Images)

Vet Advice: mRNA transforms science behind vaccine development

Vaccination is one of the major success stories in human and veterinary medicine. Modern vaccines reshaped approaches to animal health and production medicine. On the human side, vaccines greatly reduced the incidence of infectious diseases such as polio, and were instrumental in eradicating, on a global scale, killer diseases such as human smallpox and rinderpest […] Read more

Syngenta’s headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. (Photo courtesy Syngenta)

Syngenta says IPO ‘on track’

Ag chem firm books higher first-half profit

Zurich | Reuters — Agricultural chemical maker Syngenta posted higher first-half profit and sales on Thursday, helped by maintaining supplies to farmers and controlling costs during the coronavirus outbreak, and said it was on track to complete its public listing by mid-2022. The Swiss company, bought by state-owned ChemChina for $43 billion in 2017, posted […] Read more


CME October 2020 lean hogs with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures rise as pork supplies shrink

Texas cash cattle prices down on week

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose to their highest level in nearly three months on Tuesday after government data showed that the reopening of pork plants after a rash of COVID-19 shutdowns had not boosted supplies. Cattle futures were lower, pressured by signs of weakness in the cash markets, traders said. […] Read more

A Meta Cannabis retail store on Yonge Street in Toronto. (CNW Group/Meta Growth)

Canadian cannabis retailers poised to merge

High Tide, Meta Growth to create biggest weed retailer

Two major Canadian cannabis sellers are poised to create the largest pot retailer in the country by revenue. Calgary retailer High Tide Inc., which operates the Canna Cabana chain of stores in three provinces, announced a merger deal Friday to take up Toronto-based Meta Growth Corp., which runs the Meta Cannabis and NewLeaf Cannabis chains. […] Read more



(PorcOlymel.com)

Olymel’s Red Deer plant holds at one COVID case

Pork plant employee's contacts returning to work

A production line employee at Olymel’s hog slaughter plant at Red Deer, Alta. remains the facility’s lone COVID-19 case after her contacts at the plant tested negative for the virus, the company says. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec ag co-operative Sollio, confirmed the lone COVID-19 case at its Red Deer site on Aug. […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Brandon pork plant’s exports to China suspended

Chinese protocols call for temporary pause, Maple Leaf says

New Chinese rules for exporters and a number of COVID-19 cases among its workers have led Maple Leaf Foods to temporarily halt pork traffic to China from its biggest hog plant. The company said Tuesday it has “temporarily suspended pork exports to China on a voluntary basis due to recent protocols adopted by the Chinese […] Read more

(Olymel video screengrab via YouTube)

Red Deer hog plant books first COVID case

One employee confirmed with virus, 13 isolating as precaution, company says

A major Prairie hog slaughter and processing plant relatively untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic has marked its first case of the coronavirus in a production line worker. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec ag co-operative Sollio, said an employee who reported for work Monday last week at its Red Deer, Alta. plant began showing […] Read more


Cattle rest while tied to their stalls at Agribition in 2019.

Agribition posts strong 2019, show number 50 postponed

Purely Purebred with Mike Millar: News about you from the August 2020 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Canadian Western Agribition (CWA) announced a successful 2019 year at its annual general meeting, reporting a net income of $325,462 from operations. “CWA’s long-term sustainability is more important than ever right now,” says Chris Lees, CWA president. “In 2019, we invested in the show, brought in new programming and continued to put our exhibitors, visitors […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

COVID-19 lands at another Cargill meat plant

Five cases linked to case-ready plant in Calgary

Alberta provincial officials have declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Cargill’s meat further-processing plant in Calgary, with five cases of the coronavirus connected to the facility. Provincial chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted Friday that “there are five cases linked to Cargill Case Ready Meats in #YYC.” Provincial health officials “have visited the plant and […] Read more