The Canadian Food Price Report for 2019 was unveiled this week, and the findings raised the eyebrows of many, including those within the Canadian Meat Council (CMC). The report was put out by the University of Guelph and the University of Dalhousie. The two schools cite the price of meat is set to decline as more people are… Read More
With the impending completion of phase 2 less than five months away, Whole Leaf is set to be the largest lettuce greenhouse operation in North America. The new state-of-the-art facility, opened its doors at Coaldale, Alta., last year. It introduced five proprietary technologies to North American production — making it possible to annually grow “clean, environmentally responsible, and safe”… Read More
McCain Foods is halfway through $45 million and $30 million in updates to its Portage la Prairie and Carberry potato processing facilities, respectively. Upgrades for the Portage la Prairie site started in 2016, and will wrap late next year. The modifications include the addition of a high efficiency potato sorting system, as well as new processing… Read More
Maple Leaf Foods has announced plans to spend $660 million to build a new, 640,000 square foot fresh poultry processing facility at London, Ont., and to invest in projects that “accelerate adoption of advanced manufacturing and production technologies.” Those investments support the company’s goal of reducing its environmental footprint by 50 per cent by 2025. The… Read More
If ever you’ve been hugely frustrated by misinformation swirling around about how food is grown, you’ve probably also wondered what can be done about it. While farmers have been encouraged to “tell their stories,” many feel that, as an industry, the information shared is not being picked up. That is partially true, as the latest… Read More
A Quebec cheese processing company will invest in automation and digital technology following federal funding announcements made earlier this week. La Trappe à Fromage de l’Outaouais will receive up to $584,063 to assist the cheese processor purchase and install automation equipment to “optimize processing, improve product quality and production capacity, and food safety.” The company,… Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has announced it’s investigating a case of bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) in the southern interior of British Columbia. Dr. Debbie Barr, director of animal health, welfare & biosecurity division CFIA, says the mature cow was sent to a slaughter house on Oct. 26, 2018. Post mortem examination showed signs… Read More
The news Parliamentary secretary Jean-Claude Poissant, on behalf of Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay, was in Gatineau, Quebec, this week to announce funding for two projects focused on food safety and public trust in Canada’s food system. Announced at the Food Safety Forum, held following the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity’s Public Trust Summit,… Read More
Much of what we produce in agriculture ends up wasted, not eaten. While food waste in your own home may be the first thing you think of, much of food loss and waste happens at processing. Speaking this week at the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI) Public Trust Summit, Cher Mereweather, executive director of… Read More
The federal government has announced close to $153 million for support of the Protein Industries Canada (PIC) Supercluster. The funding will be matched dollar for dollar by the private sector. The funds will help the group – comprised of businesses, post-secondary institutions, and non-profit organizations – move the PIC Supercluster forward. The purpose of the supercluster is… Read More
Regulations are often disliked by by both producers and consumers. Producers think there is too much red tape and consumers think regulators are too accommodating to business. But when the regulatory system works – when it trusted and predictable – everyone benefits. The recent Canola Discovery Forum at Banff, Alta., brought together a host of… Read More
The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity rolls out its latest public trust data this week in conjunction with its third annual Public Trust Summit, being held at Gatineau, Quebec. The centre conducted two surveys this past year. One was a continuation of its public trust barometer, and the other a Canada-U.S. study which focused on three… Read More
The federal government has made it very clear that it expects Canadian agriculture to grow, scale-up, and increase production — for both domestic and international markets. China is a key destination for several Canadian commodities, and a trade mission this week is yielding some very positive results. Last week, Canada sent four high-level ministers to… Read More
There was a time that farming was not that mysterious a process. Most farming practices were the same from generation to generation, and the majority of people were involved in agriculture in some way themselves. That has all changed now, and some in the industry feel there is now a need to ‘demystify’ what agriculture… Read More
Wednesday evening was exciting for more than just Halloween in the town of Churchill, Manitoba. For the first time in more than a year residents heard a train whistle coming from the Hudson Bay Rail Line. The rail line was badly damaged by flooding in the spring of 2017 and, with no year-round roads into… Read More