(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. avian flu outbreak of 2022 wipes out record number of birds

Vast majority of caseload originated with wild birds: USDA

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Avian flu has wiped out 50.54 million birds in the United States this year, making it the country’s deadliest outbreak in history, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed Thursday. The deaths of chickens, turkeys and other birds represent the worst U.S. animal-health disaster to date, topping the previous record of 50.5 […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill names new CEO

Former proteins boss to lead firm

Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Cargill Inc. said on Monday Brian Sikes will take over as the global commodities trader’s new president and CEO effective Jan. 1. Sikes will succeed Dave MacLennan, who has served as Cargill’s CEO and chairman since 2013. MacLennan will now assume the role of executive chair of Cargill’s board of directors and will […] Read more


Wagyu beef on skewers at a Tokyo market. (Michal_Staniewski/iStock/Getty Images)

Feds pledge agriculture office for Indo-Pacific export support

Ottawa aims to tighten ties with region

Reading Time: 2 minutes Updated Nov. 23 — Canada’s latest round of federal efforts to boost economic ties with the Indo-Pacific region will include its first dedicated agriculture and agri-food office in the region. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tour through the region last week included a pledge of $31.8 million over five years for a regional agriculture office, to […] Read more

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Olymel to exit lard business, shut plant

Packer's St. Hyacinthe facility to permanently close

Reading Time: 3 minutes Pork and poultry packer Olymel is set to close the further processing plant it operates in its home town in Quebec as it exits the lard production business. The company, an arm of ag co-operative Sollio, announced Thursday it will close its St. Jacques Street plant at St. Hyacinthe, Que. effective Feb. 10, affecting 107 […] Read more


(Diane Kuhl/iStock/Getty Images)

CUSMA compensation set for supply-managed sectors

Feds pledge over $1.7 billion in payments, programs

Reading Time: 3 minutes A final round of payments and programs for Canada’s supply-managed dairy and feather sectors — this time in compensation for the sequel deal to NAFTA — is now on deck for 2023 and beyond. Compensation to those sectors for domestic market concessions granted under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) was telegraphed in federal Finance Minister Chrystia […] Read more

Andre Fortin, shown here at right in September at a community fair at Shawville, Que., about 75 km northwest of Ottawa, is the Quebec Liberals’ new critic for agriculture and health. (Andre Fortin via Facebook)

Quebec Liberals’ new ag critic to also handle health file

Fortin to also handle regional development, forestry

Reading Time: 2 minutes A quick re-shuffling of shadow cabinet responsibilities will see the agriculture critic for Quebec’s provincial opposition Liberals now also handle the health file. The Liberals’ interim leader Marc Tanguay — who took over after the Nov. 7 resignation of Dominique Anglade following the Oct. 3 general election — announced Tuesday that Andre Fortin, the party’s […] Read more


U.S. special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry and Agriculture Sectretary Tom Vilsack applaud U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech at the COP27 climate summit at Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on Nov. 11, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

Farm climate innovation commitments at COP27 double to US$8 billion

Agriculture could outpace other industries to net zero: Vilsack

Reading Time: 2 minutes Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt | Reuters — An initiative led by the United States and the United Arab Emirates to help agriculture adapt to climate change and reduce emissions through innovation has doubled investment commitments to US$8 billion and extended its reach, it said on Friday. The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) was […] Read more

This on-farm marketer shares some of the lessons she’s learned following the launch of her latest venture.

A tasty education

This Ontario farm family uses cooking classes to help close the consumer gap

Reading Time: 4 minutes With strong interest from the public in knowing more about where their food comes from, some farms are offering on-farm cooking classes. This past year Thames River Melons near Innerkip, Ont., began offering a Harvest Brunch Experience that is part tour, part workshop, part cooking class and part meal. “It is very interactive and is […] Read more


Circular food systems establish collaborative networks to keep nutrients cycling through the system, thus reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill.

Developing a circular food economy

One out of six families near Guelph, Ontario, are food insecure. So why do we throw out over a third of the food that farmers produce?

Reading Time: 4 minutes Farmers are the original recyclers. Now a circular food economy project in Guelph is helping farmers and businesses collaborate to find even more ways to reduce waste. The goal of Our Food Future is to build a circular economy within the regional food supply chain, says Justine Dainard, project manager for the County of Wellington. […] Read more

Investors are increasingly focusing on links between a healthy food system and efforts to fight global warming and preserve biodiversity.  Photo: fotografixx/Getty Images

U.N.-backed investors set fresh targets in sustainable food shift

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters – A U.N.-backed group of global financial institutions including Dutch lender Rabobank on Thursday set out a series of company specific environmental and social targets aimed at helping drive a shift to a more sustainable food system. Set by a group of 11 firms in the Good Food Finance Network, including Nuveen Natural Capital […] Read more