The way Canadian beef will be graded for yield will be different starting at the beginning of next year. The change from three classes to five is being made to align the Canadian yield grading system with the U.S. The Canadian Beef Grading Agency (CBGA) says this move “will unite the industry and allow for alignment… Read More
Montreal-based Saputo has announced its plan to acquire the activities of F&A Dairy Products, Inc., a dairy processing company with two sites in the United States, for US$85 million. Located in New Mexico and Wisconsin, F&A Dairy employs approximately 170 people. The purchase price will be paid in cash from cash on hand and available credit… Read More
If you’ve heard or seen the term “buy local” get ready to see and hear it a bit more in Wild Rose Country. Back in May of this year, Bill 7 was passed in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The bill’s purpose is to encourage the development and success of a local food sector throughout… Read More
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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