Feed companies, farmers and other stakeholders in the feed industry in Western Canada have until April 9th to share their thoughts on the proposed mandatory licensing of feed mills with the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC.) So why is the CGC looking at licensing feed mills? In 2012, two major hog producers — Puratone and Big... Read More
Category: Livestock
The Canadian poultry sector is working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to minimize the impact the outbreak of H5N2 avian influenza in the U.S. has at home. Following findings of the highly pathogenic strain, the CFIA has restricted imports of live birds and poultry products from Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and... Read More
There's still no indication when South Korea will lift the temporary ban on Canadian beef it implemented following the discovery of a cow with BSE in Alberta in early February. While the BSE case did not impact trade in most of Canada's export markets, Korea and several smaller markets temporarily suspended imports of Canadian beef,... Read More
This week, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz introduced the first of the Canadian Beef Branding Series events in Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam. The series is meant to highlight the four pillars of the Canadian beef brand: producer, product, world class standards and sustainability. It’s been a busy few weeks for Canada Beef Inc., also announcing... Read More
It’s nearly the middle of March, but it feels more like May in many parts of Western Canada. Spring-like days with temps in the double digits for much of the southern areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan seem to have buoyed cattle markets, as it’s likely grass will be abundant and soon. That’s the latest Beef... Read More
In January, the National Beef Strategic Planning Group published its strategic goals for 2020 in a paper that brought to light the full depth of funding issues being faced by the industry. “Since the National Check-off was introduced in 2002,” the report reads, “inflation and a reduced number of marketings resulted in less check-off collected,... Read More
A new training and education facility built to promote Canadian beef officially opened its doors on Monday. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, joined beef industry officials for the opening of the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence in Calgary, Alberta. "Our government is proud to see this... Read More
The great thing about social media — like Twitter and Facebook — is that it provides a megaphone for farmers, a group of people who have struggled for decades to be heard by consumers. The flipside is, of course, that technology doesn’t discriminate; a megaphone for farmers is a megaphone for everybody else, too. Which... Read More
*Update on Monday, March 9th: The USDA on March 9th confirmed a second case of H5N2 avian influenza in the Mississippi flyway on a turkey farm in Missouri. Another turkey facility in Missouri has also been quarantined after preliminary tests came back positive for the virus. The first finding of the highly pathogenic H5N2 avian... Read More
If you’re looking to catch up on what’s been happening in the world of Canadian agriculture, this week’s podcast runs the gamut — from seed companies collecting end point royalties to why some weeds are more prone to herbicide resistance to why McDonald’s is looking to Canada for “sustainable beef.” Here’s “This Week on Real... Read More