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 (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

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

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

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

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

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

Ontario-based Gay Lea Foods Co-operative Limited announced it’s agreement to acquire the shares of Alberta Cheese Company Ltd. this week, effective October 13, 2017. Alberta Cheese was founded in 1976 by Frank Talarico, and remained in the family name for fourty years. “Today’s announcement represents an exciting next chapter for Alberta Cheese, as my family’s… Read More

Both the federal and Ontario governments are betting on the future of the province’s fledgling hazelnut industry. Last week, both levels of government announced support for the industry, which plans to have 25,000 acres of hazelnut trees in the province by 2027. Ontario Hazelnut Association project coordinator Andrew Nixon notes that the Ontario industry traces… Read More

No one has to tell University of Guelph agricultural economics master’s student Travis Jansen that farmers like him are well-advised to listen to consumers. But he’s doing more than just listening to them – he’s set to learn from them, too. Jansen, who comes from a family hog farm near Seaforth, knows successful farmers have… Read More

What’s the value of public opinion? That’s a question I find myself asking more often these days. In a democracy, public opinion should matter and politicians and policy makers should have a strong understanding of the people’s will when making public policy. But should they give the people what they want? Today we have no… Read More

Richardson International is expanding its oat milling business and its presence in Europe. The Winnipeg-based company says it has acquired European Oat Millers, as of June 15, 2017. Headquartered in Bedford, England, European Oat Millers is the second largest oat miller in Europe, according to Richardson, producing a wide range of oat products that are… Read More

Producers need to make their voices heard now, as Ottawa proceeds with public consultations about the first-of-its-kind national food policy. Ottawa says a food policy is a way to address issues related to the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food. It says such a policy “will set a long-term vision for the health, environmental,… Read More

 

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