It’s tough to come up with a technical description for what Ellen Pruden really does. A long-time agricultural educator and advocate, her job title says she’s the director for the Canola Eat Well program, which she leads out of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association office. But beyond that, her enthusiasm for sharing farmers’ stories has… Read More
For the second time this week, the pulse industry is in the spotlight as another research and development project gets the green light. This latest project, funded through the protein supercluster Protein Industries Canada (PIC), is a joint research and development initiative between Saskatchewan-based AGT Food and Ingredients and ulivit, a consumer-facing ingredients start up,… Read More
Billing itself as a company ready to transform Canada’s food industry, Local Leaf Farms has opened a vertical farm in Barrie, Ont., with plans to launch 20 locations across the country by the end of 2025. Vertical farming is “always presented as the future, and I’ll state right off the top I don’t see it… Read More
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $90 million in government financing — mostly loans — for the Merit Functional Foods plant protein facility that’s being built at Winnipeg, Man. as part of his morning address on Monday (June 22). Merit Functional Foods is building a commercial-scale protein extraction plant that will process peas and canola into… Read More
Protein Industries Canada has announced a $19.2 million project looking at faba bean (also called fava bean) and pea processing on the Canadian prairies. The main partners and private funders in the project announced on Friday are Roquette — the French company that’s building a $400 million pea processing plant at Portage, Man. — and… Read More
Originally announced in February — what seems like a lifetime ago now — Tim Hortons has made good on its commitment to introduce a non-dairy option for its hot beverage line up. Following poor profitability performance to round out 2019 (comparable sales were down over 4%), the company laid out its plans to change a… Read More
The four western Canadian provincial hog producer groups are asking three major pork processors for a larger cut of the value of each hog. The boards of directors for the B.C. Pork Producers Association, Alberta Pork, Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council have sent a letter to Maple Leaf Foods, Olymel, and Donald’s Fine Foods… Read More
Scotlynn Group, an Ontario logistics and produce company, has had its workforce hit hard by a COVID-19 outbreak. In response, the company is looking for teams of five people to form harvest squads to bring in the asparagus harvest. The company has used its social media streams to shed light on not only the COVID-19… Read More
The very word “sustainability” can be a bit of a lightning rod within agriculture. What is it? What does it really mean? What value does it have? Carlo Dade, with the Canada West Foundation, says that there is real value in the term and the practices to achieve sustainable production, but that Canadian agriculture is… Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) has launched a social media, radio, and television campaign to bring awareness to the plight of grain farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ad calls out Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Canadian government for not doing enough for farmers, in comparison to what U.S. President Donald Trump has… Read More
The last two months have been a roller coaster of shifting food demand, tanking farm-level prices, and closed processing plants as a result of COVID-19. As ranchers, feedlot operators, processors, and food retailers navigate the pandemic, tensions are high as some points in the value chain receive top prices while ranchers are hurting. Jayson Lusk,… Read More
As the COVID-19 outbreak disrupts processing in Canada and the U.S., more consumers are looking to buy beef direct from ranchers. In response, the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) is creating a directory of members offering direct sales of beef. “We know there’s absolutely no shortage of beef cattle,” says Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association president… Read More
We are a long way from getting through the COVID-19 pandemic. Even as provinces and states begin to relax restrictions, we know that a return to “normal” is possibly months away, and that’s not even accounting for the unknown of whether or not this re-opening of the economy will lead to a second wave of… Read More
First quarter financial reports are starting to paint a clearer picture of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent government restrictions, have had on food demand. Restaurant sales — no surprise — have plummeted, and been replaced to a lesser extent by higher staple grocery sales. Tim Hortons, A&W, and McDonalds have all reported… Read More
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s become abundantly clear to many that Canada’s livestock processing industry is incredibly concentrated to a handful of federal plants. Now, as these plants face partial or short-term closures, many farmers and consumers alike are lamenting the lack of small, local abattoirs. The trouble is, it’s not easy… Read More