Layoffs, recalls issued | No timeline given on when plant will resume full operations
Partial operations at the XL Foods beef processing plant in Brooks, Alta., were scheduled to resume Oct. 16 after a chaotic weekend of employee layoffs and recalls. XL management issued layoff notices to 2,000 employees Oct.13 and then recalled 800 of them Oct. 14 in a turn of events that suggested conflict between XL and […] Read moreNews
CFIA continues tests at XL Foods
XL report will be made public, says gov’t
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz has promised that once the dust settles on the E. coli scare at XL Foods, the events will be examined and the report made public. “As part of our government’s response to the (Sheila) Weatherill report (on the 2008 listeria food poisoning crisis), an expert advisory committee was established some […] Read more
Hot weather triggers early cattle births
LINDELL BEACH, B.C. — Excessive summer heat may affect more than crops and the water supply. It can be detrimental for pregnant beef cows giving birth in temperatures of 32 C or more and can trigger the early onset of birth. The research findings by animal scientists at Oklahoma State University’s division of agricultural sciences […] Read more
Experts seek to improve plants’ ability to capitalize on beneficial organisms
Research is shedding new light on a relationship that exists between most plants and some beneficial organisms in the soil. Biologists are interested in the nature of that partnership and how it affects plants growing in the wild, while other researchers are looking to exploit it, allowing producers to grow crops with fewer inputs. McMaster […] Read more
Canada formally joins Pacific trade talks
Ag exporters pleased | However, Canada’s supply managed sectors worry it will open doors to imports
Canada has formally joined negotiations to create a Pacific region trade liberalization deal, joining nine other countries that have been negotiating for several years. Trade minister Ed Fast said the invitation to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks is a chance to increase trade into “fast-growing markets throughout the Asia-Pacific region.” Canadian agricultural exporters quickly embraced […] Read moreManitoba biodiesel plant destroyed by fire after tanker explosion
A fire has destroyed Manitoba’s largest biodiesel plant. The Oct. 1 blaze at the Speedway International facility in St. Boniface caused an estimated $15 million of damage. It was one of the largest fires that the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service has attended. It took 61 firefighters to control the blaze and 20 police cars to […] Read more
Prairie land prices surge in 2012
Largest semi-annual increase on record | Rising prices entice landowners to list their properties
Farmers and investors who own Canadian farmland continued to see a solid return on their investments during the first half of 2012, according to Farm Credit Canada’s semi-annual report. In its most recent farmland valuations report published Oct. 9, FCC said the average value of a quarter section of farmland in Canada rose 8.6 percent […] Read moreHay East good first step
The first shipment of prairie hay made it to drought-affected eastern Ontario Oct. 9 with a promise of more to come but quantities are much less than farmers need. “It really is just a drop in the bucket,” Glenn Buck of the Mennonite Disaster Service Ontario unit said Oct. 10. “People need to realize how […] Read more
Prairie farmers hope for rain
The thing that prairie farmers feared the most just a few short weeks ago has now ascended to the top of their wish list. With this year’s harvest all but complete, growers are looking skyward and hoping for a prolonged, prairie-wide soaker. Precipitation has been scarce or non-existent across much of Western Canada this fall. […] Read more
CFIA gives no timeline on XL opening
Samples taken from meat processed at the XL Food’s plant in Brooks, Alta., have tested negative for E. coli, but there are no plans to reopen the plant, said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency today. CFIA spokesperson Paul Mayer said the agency plans to spend the weekend reviewing its observations of the deboning and cutting […] Read more
