The XL Foods beef plant at the centre of a massive meat recall will be allowed resume limited operations. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said no meat will be allowed to leave the plant until it is satisfied all the food safety protocols now in place at the Brooks, Alta., plant are working effectively. Dr. […] Read more
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XL to open for testing purposes
Website linking land owners, renters wins award
A concept for a website that links farmland owners with renters has been named winner of the University of Saskatchewan Tech Venture Challenge. Lyndon Lisitza, an alumnus of the university, created Renterra Farmland Sales, which, when operational, will allow land owners to register and post legal land descriptions. Farmers who want to rent land can […] Read more
Union calls for public inquiry into XL Foods E. coli outbreak
BROOKS, Alta. — The union representing 2,200 workers at the XL Foods plant in Brooks said yesterday that management refused to address food safety issues brought to its attention even before the plant was closed Sept. 26 by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Doug O’Halloran, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, […] Read more
Chronic hunger still too high: UN
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says one in eight people on the planet suffer from chronic undernourishment. The ‘hunger count’ of 870 million people was a sharp reduction from the earlier estimate of more than 1 billion chronically hungry or starving people because of a recalculation of data. But the number of hungry […] Read more
Feed ration expert selected for excellence award
Robert Hironaka still recalls a phone call from a 300-head feedlot operator who was having problems with bloating animals. He was treating 20 head per day for the problem, and needed advice. Hironaka, a scientist at the Lethbridge Research Centre, had done extensive work on feed rations and feedlot economics, and he quickly identified the […] Read more
Prizes announced at Olds Classic
OLDS, Alta. — Six beef breeds vied for championship banners at the Olds Classic show held Oct. 5-7. The event is part of a larger circuit of shows at Olds, Lloydminster and Edmonton that compete for the Alberta Supreme competition held at Farmfair, which is scheduled for Nov. 4-11 in Edmonton. All champion females and […] Read more
Hay donations to East are below need
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
Combines set new world record
A new world record for the most combines working in a single field at the same time was set near Dalmeny, Sask., October 6. Event organizers say 249 combines worked side-by-side for more than five minutes to break the old record of 200 set August 7, 2010 near Winkler, Manitoba. The event was sponsored by […] Read more
Senate debates food safety bill
Lacks information | Some question how the government will use its regulatory power
Food industry and producer groups are praising new federal food safety legislation as a significant strengthening of Canada’s food safety rules. However, there were also criticisms during hearings last week about what is not included in the legislation, which was tabled in June in the Senate, and the potential dangers of some of the bill’s […] Read moreFood safety act misleading: food expert
The federal government is misleading Canadians by suggesting its new Safe Food for Canadians Act is anything of the sort, says University of Manitoba food science professor Rick Holley. It is an enhanced food inspection bill that does little to deal with some underlying food safety issues in Canada, he told a Senate committee studying […] Read more
