As farmers continue to look for ways to capitalize on the local food movement, some new hints were offered up earlier this week from researchers at the University of Florida. In the southeastern U.S., Florida is considered the state with the greatest diversity of what most people would typically call local food, particularly fruit and… Read More
Shaun Haney, founder of RealAgriculture.com, spoke with Willie Van Solkema, president of JBS Canada, at the Saskatchewan Stock Growers’ 100th AGM this week to get an update on JBS’s move into Canada. Up for discussion: JBS Canada’s foray into existing markets for the former-XL Foods products, which markets are still closed to the company and… Read More
The XL Foods beef recall over E. coli contamination and its detection was one of the top ag news stories of 2012. It’s unfortunate that bad news is big news, and even worse that once the dust settles we discover that what happened was preventable even within the existing rules and regulations. An independent panel’s… Read More
On Friday, I was offered horse meat. You no doubt remember the scandal that erupted in Europe earlier this year involving mislabeled meatballs which were distributed through supermarkets and even Ikea across 13 countries. The processed meat and meatballs labelled as pork and beef were found to contain traces of horse meat, which outraged consumers… Read More
There’s no denying the flax market tanked following the discovery of CDC Triffid in exports to Europe in 2009. The Flax Council of Canada set out a testing protocol for Triffid, but many farmers balked at the idea of sowing flax seed again. It’s been four years now —will we see a gradual shift back… Read More
It’s great to see farm groups take a public position. Their members want to hear from them, and increasingly, so does the public, especially when these groups are represented by real farmers. Even better yet is when a farm group’s concerns mesh with the public’s understanding of the status quo – such as border crossing… Read More
Though it has not been grown in nearly a decade, wheat containing the Roundup Ready gene has been reportedly found in an Oregon, U.S., field by the USDA. The Roundup Ready wheat was field tested many years ago by Monsanto in the state from 1999 to 2005, but the crop was never approved for commercial… Read More
There are good weeks and then there are poor weeks. Last week the US implemented its new rules to COOL. The Canadian and US industries feel strongly that these remedies are un-called for. Lyndsey Smith and Anne Wasko discuss the implementation of COOL in the latest edition of the CDN Beef Market Update. If you… Read More
I’m all for peaceful protests. Say it loud, say it proud, whatever you need to get off your chest, please do. And it’s with this spirit that I propose we have a march to promote marching against real problems in our society — children living in poverty and suffering from hunger even as a growing… Read More
Food safety is top of mind for any food industry. The beef industry is constantly researching new and proven methods for keeping Canada’s beef value chain safe from pathogens. E-beam irradiation, a food safety technique used in over 50 countries, is one such method being evaluated for use on beef and beef trim. While not… Read More
For many in the agriculture industry and especially the beef industry, the announcement that BSE had been found in the Canadian cattle herd was one of those moments where you’ll likely always remember where you were when you first heard it. I was at work, my first job in publishing, and the news came over… Read More
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any weirder… A new, free app for Androids and iPhones has been launched. The app, christened “Buycott,” and developed by Buycott Inc. (an overwhelming amount of creativity, I know), allows users to join a number of campaigns of their choice and make purchase decisions based on the “campaign… Read More
Ontario ginseng is the class of its field. The species grown here, called American ginseng (versus Asian ginseng, the other popular variety) is the apple of ginseng exporters’ eye. It now generates $130 million in export sales annually, and it’s growing every year. That’s great news for farmers who work the unique sandy soils in… Read More
If you are aggravated by puns or organisms belonging to the family Apidae, a warning: this article may bug you. But honey, I’ll try not to drone, if you promise to bee open-minded. There has been a lot of media coverage on the recent and very controversial propesed two-year suspension of neonicotinoids in the European… Read More
By Cami Ryan You may have run across this article “10 Reasons We Don’t Need GM Foods” on the FoodConsumer website. It’s been making its rounds on social media (Facebook and Twitter). I would like to address some of the inaccuracies in this article – point by point: 1. GM foods won’t solve the food crisis… Read More