Moving forward with its plan of having all sows in an open housing system, Maple Leaf Foods confirms as of now, 40,000 sows, or roughly 50 per cent of the herd, have moved over to the new system. When fully complete, Maple Leaf will become the first large-scale producer to have all of its female… Read more »
Category: Food Processing
Non-hybrids with hybrid vigour just one goal of biotech research
The joke in Saskatoon is that you come for the weather, but stay because you can’t get a flight out. Kidding aside, Saskatoon is actually a hub of biotech research and development with findings and products with the potential to benefit farmers all over the world. Because of this, Global Biotech Week is an event… Read more »
Farm visit connects culinary art students to their food
What do you do when two busloads of students come to your farm? Well, of course you welcome them, show them around, and feed them lunch. On a rainy day during harvest, students from Saskatchewan Polytechnic came out to the farm of Doyle and Val Wiebe near Langham. All of the farm equipment was lined… Read more »
Pickles and promise: Ontario’s processing vegetable industry sees new investment
Ontario’s vegetable processing industry has certainly faced its share of challenges in the last few years, but Cathy Lennon, general manager with Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers, says that there are also some great news stories of companies investing and expanding in the province. Lennon, whose organization represents over 380 tomato, cucumber, carrot, squash (and more!) growers,… Read more »
HyLife Foods announces new feed mill, processing expansion at Neepawa
Canada’s largest hog production company, with support from the Government of Manitoba, has announced a major new build in western Manitoba. HyLife Food Ltd. announced today a brand new feed mill will be built in the R.M. of Killarney-Turtle Mountain with the help of tax increment financing (TIF), to the tune of $9.5 million over a… Read more »
$11.1 million announced for pulse research cluster
Federal minister of agriculture Lawrence MacAulay was at the University of Saskatchewan this week to announce $11.1 Million in funding for SaskPulse and Pulse Canada under the Canadian Agriculture Partnership, AgriScience Clusters. In addition, $7.2 million of industry matching funding will bring the total investment to over $18 million. At the press conference, held at… Read more »
McCain Foods announces new Canadian division president
The Canadian division of McCain Foods has a new president, as the company recently announced Danielle Barran will take on the top role. McCain Foods, a Canadian company known for its frozen fries, employs approximately 20,000 people over six continents, with global sales in excess of $9 billion According to her LinkedIn, Barran was previously with… Read more »
Maple Leaf Foods spending $28 million on Edmonton plant upgrades
Maple Leaf Foods (MLF) is spending $28 million to transitioning the company’s Edmonton poultry processing plant to a “world-class controlled atmosphere stunning (CAS) technology facility.” The company plans to convert is transportation, receiving and holding area and handling systems to optimize rest time and create a climate-controlled environment as it implements the CAS technology, the… Read more »
Two buyers for every lamb: challenges and opportunities in the sheep industry
Canada imports more than half the lamb it consumes, which spells opportunity for our sheep farmers, but that opportunity isn’t the easiest to capitalize on. In the interview below, Marc Carere, vice chair of Ontario Sheep Farmers, talks to Shaun Haney about the tremendous amount of potential — but also incredible challenges —of this still-maturing… Read more »
Walmart Foundation grant to fund Canadian project to reduce food waste
The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity has received a grant of over US$520,000 from the Walmart Foundation to fund research into Canadian attitudes on food waste. The funding will also be used to assist food and beverage businesses make changes to achieve measurable food waste reductions. It’s estimated that 18% of Canada’s food waste happens… Read more »
Big trade surplus, at-home buys, & online sales: Grier talks groceries
The latest Grocery Trade Report tells the story of more sales to the U.S., Canadians choosing to cook at home, and a (perhaps surprisingly) small shift to online food sales. Kevin Grier, with KG Market Analysis and Consulting, says that 2017 was a pretty strong year for the grocery industry in Canada. Of note, packaged… Read more »
PepsiCo announces closure of Bow Island Spitz plant
Two years after the closure of its Medicine Hat distribution facility, PepsiCo has announced it will close the Spitz International Inc facility at Bow Island. PepsiCo first acquired the Alberta-based company ten years ago. The food and beverage giant sent this statement to RealAgriculture, February 16: “Yesterday we announced our difficult decision to close our… Read more »
Intercropping a must for new camelina contracts
Interested in growing camelina for Three Farmers? Get ready to intercrop. Three Farmers, a Saskatchewan-based snack food company, is offering, for the first time, production contracts for camelina, an oilseed crop. A stipulation of the contract is that camelina be grown in tandem with either pea or lentil. Likely the first-of-its-kind stipulation in a crop… Read more »
Dealing with the global milk protein glut
In the dairy food value chain processors play an integral role in product development. Dairy product development puts dairy components in protein bars, protein powder, ice cream, yogurt and baby formula. to name just a few. At Farm Journal’s MILK Business Conference, attendees heard from Micheal Dykes, President and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association…. Read more »
Cheerios sold in Canada to lose “gluten-free” label claim
General Mills is voluntarily phasing out the words “gluten-free” from Cheerios packages sold in Canada. The announcement came, according to the Canadian Celiac Association (CCA), in a letter addressed to a Canadian consumer who had filed a complaint against the product. In response to our own email, General Mills Canada said the company will remove… Read more »