The debate surrounding what should be considered meat — and what isn’t — continues to spark conversation across the food industry. What are plant-based burgers, such as the Impossible Burger and Beyond Meat, actually made of? Dr. Frank Mitloehner, professor at the University of California-Davis, was a guest on AgriTalk last week where he shared… Read More
Category: Industry Issues
With no ambassador on the ground in China, and no face-to-face meeting scheduled between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese President Xi Jinping, it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel of the latest round of trade suspensions. “Wringing hands and begging Trump to intervene are not a good Plan… Read More
Though there is still much to know about prions and prion diseases, we’ve come a long way since the first case found of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a domestic cow in Canada, and the launch of the Alberta Prion Research Institute. “I think we have come quite a ways,” says Kevin Keough, executive director… Read More
Changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations could be on the way, following proposed changes published in the Canadian Gazette. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) are seeking comments from all interested parties on a proposal to amend the regulations to allow temporary foreign workers more flexibility in… Read More
Beef is always on the plate as the main dinner for the Saskatchewan Stock Growers convention held at Moose Jaw each June. Increasingly, though, beef and other animal-based protein is being eliminated from the menu — in fast food restaurants and at home. Carol Harrison, registered dietician and consultant, spoke at the 106th SSGA convention… Read More
Rural crime is an unfortunate term we’ve all come to know — whether we’ve encountered it ourselves, or had a neighbour in the area deal with an incident. The question always is, what do we do about it? What is within the farmers’ rights when it comes to other people trespassing and stealing property? Moose… Read More
When it comes to market access woes, the pulse industry has had its share. India “It was 2004 when India introduced some issues around stem and bulb nematode – so that’s fifteen years we’ve been working with India trying to get that issue resolved,” says Gordon Bacon, CEO of Pulse Canada. “And of course India’s… Read More
It seemed like a rare opportunity to bring agriculture to the fore when, in 2014, the United Nations’ General Assembly declared it to be the International Year of Family Farming. At the time, it said the declaration was to “raise the profile of family farming and smallholder farming by focusing world attention on its significant role in eradicating hunger… Read More
While agriculture plastics were not mentioned in the federal government’s recent pledge to ban single-use plastics, the pre-campaign promise certainly has many asking if ag plastics, such as twine, bale wrap, and grain bags, might end up being impacted. According to Christina Seidel, executive director of the Recycling Council of Alberta, the federal government’s direction… Read More
Public speaking. For you 4-H-ers out there, you’ve probably competed in an agricultural-based public speaking competition before, whether it was to your excitement, or you were doing it because it was mandatory in your district. Growing up outside of the 4-H sphere, and not living in a big centre, these were skills I didn’t really… Read More
The lack of rainfall in some of the major pasture growing areas in Western Canada is extremely taxing on cow-calf producers. According to Chad MacPherson, general manager of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, Saskatchewan is going into its third year of a major drought, and producers are running out of options. While in some years… Read More
What do Canadians think of our agriculture and agri-food industry as the calendar closes in on a federal election later this year? A new poll published this week by Grassroots Public Affairs offers insight into Canadian public opinion on a range of agricultural issues and policies. Overall, Grassroots principal and senior consultant Peter Seemann says… Read More
Frustration is brewing among farmers as changes to the Advanced Payment Program (APP) have yet to happen. The increase to $1 million cap from the previous $400,000 was announced more than three weeks ago. Scott Keller, farmer from New Norway, Alta., took to Twitter on Wednesday calling on the federal government to do something about… Read More
Premier Jason Kenney is going through with his plan to eliminate the carbon tax. On May 22, the Government of Alberta introduced Bill 1, An Act to Repeal the Carbon Tax, and if passed, the repeal will come into force at 12:01 a.m. on May 30, 2019. “Promise made, promise kept,” the premier said in… Read More
Ontario sheep and cattle producers who work with many of the province’s independent meat processors could soon find themselves fully responsible for their livestock’s hides. In April, one of the few processing companies in the province that collects hides from small and medium-sized abattoirs, announced it was ceasing operations. It had been serving Ontario abattoirs… Read More