Have you got a great idea for the next big thing for chicken? Chicken Farmers of Ontario on Wednesday announced the Ontario Chicken Innovation and Growth Program to “accelerate consumer-facing product innovation and stimulate growth in the Ontario chicken industry.” Rob Dougans, president and CEO, Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO), says, “Our goal is simple: put… Read more »
Category: Poultry
MacAulay non-committal on dairy program to offset CPTPP concessions
The federal Liberals remain non-committal on whether they will offer compensation to the supply-managed dairy and poultry sectors for market access that will be conceded if the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is ratified. The CPTPP terms agreed to last month would open up an additional 3.25 percent of Canada’s domestic dairy… Read more »
Over $6M announced to fund livestock and forage research in Saskatchewan
Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart today announced a $6.3 million commitment to 24 livestock and forage-related research projects and $2 million over two years to the Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence. Background: Livestock centre of excellence receives $4.5 million from federal gov’t A&W donates $5M to the… Read more »
New TPP deal, same concessions for Canada’s supply managed sectors
The Canadian government has conceded the same access to the country’s dairy, poultry and egg markets in the new Trans-Pacific Partnership as was agreed to the initial version of the deal in 2015 when the U.S. was still part of the TPP. Canada and the other 10 countries concluded negotiations on Tuesday for the updated… Read more »
Activists pushing to tax meat like cigarettes
According to the dictionary, a sin tax is “a tax on items considered undesirable or harmful, such as alcohol or tobacco.” There is mounting pressure from activist groups to add animal proteins to that list of so-called “sinful” items. They argue meat creates added healthcare costs and negative impacts on the environment. It might sound… Read more »
Alberta welcomed back to Chicken Farmers of Canada flock
Chicken Farmers of Canada says it is welcoming Alberta producers back to the flock after the province withdrew from the national agreement that determines how much production each province is allocated under the national supply management system for chicken. CFC says it has a new federal-provincial agreement “in hand” after the Farm Products Council of… Read more »
McDonald’s to source chickens raised with ‘improved welfare outcomes’
McDonald’s has announced that they are “elevating [their] global commitment to source chickens raised with improved welfare outcomes”. It’s a topic that has been on the company’s radar for decades, according to Bruce Feinberg, senior director at McDonald’s, responsible for Global Quality Systems for chicken, beef, pork, fish and dairy products. “Shortly after I joined McDonald’s in… Read more »
Chicken Farmers of Canada names new executive director
Chicken Farmers of Canada has named its replacement for outgoing executive director Mike Dungate. Michael Laliberté has been hired to lead the national chicken producer organization’s 25-member staff. Laliberté is very familiar with CFC, having worked for the organization for 26 years, most recently as director of operations. “The Board of Directors undertook a robust,… Read more »
Making more meat with less — ABIC ’17 preview
We might be hearing more about plant-based protein and meatless burgers in headlines, but when we look around the world, demand for animal-based protein — meat — is still climbing. In this podcast we connect with Carlos Saviani, the vice president of food sustainability with the World Wildlife Fund. You might say he brings a… Read more »
A new approach: Turning to consumers for production advice
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 »
Sausage study challenges consumer confidence
My daughter and grandson share the same birthday, August 7. They’re part of a pork-and-grain farming operation near Thamesville. At their birthday celebration on the weekend, our family barbequed pork sausage from their farm on the campfire. There was no reason to doubt the quality of the sausage. We trust the meat packers in nearby… Read more »
Nutreco completes acquisition of Hi-Pro, rebrands feed businesses as Trouw Nutrition
Nutreco says it has completed its purchase of Hi-Pro Feeds, and along with the acquisition, is moving its North American animal nutrition business under the name Trouw Nutrition. The Dutch company’s animal nutrition business operates internationally under the Trouw Nutrition brand, with the exception of North America, where Nutreco also operates as Shur-Gain and Landmark… Read more »
Manitoba Farmer Building Robotic Coops for Raising Pastured Chicken
Count pastured chicken production as another frontier for automation and robotics in agriculture. With demand for pastured chicken rising rapidly, Manitoba farmer Daniel Badiou, through his startup Ukko Robotics, has started manufacturing automated mobile chicken coops. That’s right. They’re basically robots for raising chickens outside. “Every day it will move by itself, and it can all… Read more »
Manitoba Farm Building Code Changes To Make it Easier to Build New Barns
Manitoba’s new government is planning to remove what it calls “impractical and costly” regulations to make it easier to build barns and farm buildings and bring the province’s farm building code in line with rules in other Western Canadian provinces. Speaking at Keystone Ag Producers’ annual meeting in Winnipeg last week, Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced… Read more »
CFIA Proposes Changes to Animal Transport Rules
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has proposed changes to the rules for the transportation of animals. Discussions about changes to the transport regulations, most of which have been in place since 1977, have been ongoing for a number of years. The draft amendments were finally published in Canada Gazette on December 3 (read the entire proposal here.) The… Read more »