Reading Time: < 1 minute A Quebec company planning to extract compounds from organic baby spinach for use in new cosmetics will get up to $2.9 million in federal funding to promote its process. PureCell Technologies plans to use the funds to build a 10,000-square foot extraction and cosmeceutical manufacturing plant at Montmagny, about 80 km east of Quebec City […] Read more
Feds back spinach-based cosmetics production
U of Guelph opens organic farming centre
Reading Time: 2 minutes Local organic food production and resource conservation are to be on the curriculum at the new Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming, officially opened at the University of Guelph. “This innovative centre will provide practical experiential learning opportunities for our students, which, in the long run, will help bring about changes and improvements to our […] Read more
Manitoba to back new food products
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Manitoba government has released a new suite of support programs to help entrepreneurs wanting to launch new food products. “These new programs are designed to provide assistance to food entrepreneurs across each stage of making a business succeed, from product development to certification,” Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk said in a release Thursday. Many small […] Read more
Ont., Que. team up on food traceability
Reading Time: < 1 minute The agencies developing agri-food traceability systems for Ontario and Quebec have signed a deal to exchange information on premises identification. OnTrace Agri-Food Traceability and Agri-Tracabilite Quebec (ATQ) announced Thursday that their deal will allow them to “seamlessly share information about premises that are involved in movement of agri-food products between Quebec and Ontario,” according to […] Read more
Ont. court approves Ridley BSE settlement
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice has approved feed maker Ridley’s $6 million settlement proposal to end its exposure to a proposed class-action suit brought by cattle producers over the arrival of BSE in the Canadian cattle herd. The court on Wednesday gave its provisional approval to the February 2008 settlement agreement, subject to the company […] Read more
Liberals offer “green shift” offsets for farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sweetening the federal Liberals’ proposed “green shift” plan in anticipation of an election call, party leader Stephane Dion proposes to put farmers among the beneficiaries of $900 million in “green” incentives. The Liberals’ proposed “green shift” environmental and economic plan will now include a $250 million Green Farms Fund, $400 million in emissions reduction credits […] Read more
CFA chief quits post for Liberals
Reading Time: 2 minutes The president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture has resigned his post to run for the federal Liberals in Manitoba. Bob Friesen, a former turkey and hog farmer from Wawanesa, Man., about 50 km southeast of Brandon, has been the CFA’s president for nine years. Friesen, well known as an advocate for Canadian farmers and […] Read more
Que. to expand sugar bushes on Crown land
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec’s natural resources ministry plans to award new rights to produce maple syrup on Crown land in coming months. In a release Wednesday, the province said it made the decision based on a recent boost in production quotas by the Federation des producteurs acericoles du Quebec (FPAQ), already approved by the province’s agri-food marketing board. […] Read more
Alta. to redevelop research greenhouses
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s horticultural crop development centre is up for a $16.5 million overhaul, the province announced Wednesday. Ag Minister George Groeneveld announced the province will demolish the 40-year-old greenhouse facilities at the Crop Diversification Centre South (CDCS) at Brooks, 180 km southeast of Calgary, and build a new, larger greenhouse facility at the site. The new […] Read more
Projects funded to boost ag work force
Reading Time: < 1 minute An ag industry sector council’s work to deepen Canada’s agricultural labour pool has picked up $1.3 million in new federal funds. Speaking Wednesday at La Ferme Gillette at Embrun, Ont., southern Ontario MP Pierre Lemieux announced the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) will get funding for three projects through the federal Sector Council Program. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
