Reading Time: 2 minutes Mexico will resume “fully normalized” trade in beef products with Canada starting Oct. 1, accepting imports of Canadian beef from cattle over 30 months old (OTMs). The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and Canadian Meat Council announced the move in separate releases Tuesday, following a joint statement by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and Prime Minister Justin […] Read more
Mexico to accept OTM Canadian beef this fall
Breeding cattle get market access to Turkey
Reading Time: < 1 minute Exporters of Canadian breeding cattle expect to see another $4.5 million per year in business from a new agreement for market access to Turkey, according to the federal government. Canada’s Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland on Monday announced an agreement with Turkey on export certificates for Canadian breeding cattle effective “immediately.” […] Read more
Earls locks in Canadian beef supplies
Reading Time: 3 minutes Vancouver-based dining chain Earls has enlisted a handful of Canadian ranchers and processors to supply beef to about half its stores while matching its criteria for animal care and “ethical farming practices.” The move comes about six weeks after Earls retreated from a plan to source its beef from Creekstone Farms, choosing the Kansas company […] Read more
Olymel plans major expansion for Quebec hog plant
Reading Time: 2 minutes The meat packing arm of Quebec’s La Coop federee has budgeted $25 million for a major expansion project at its hog slaughter and butchering plant at St-Esprit, Que. Olymel’s expansion plan, announced Tuesday, is expected to bring the plant’s floor space to over 215,000 square feet, up by about 35,000 square feet, and boost its […] Read more
Audit rips New Brunswick’s oversight of ag fairs
Reading Time: 4 minutes New Brunswick’s provincial government plans to update the legislation governing agricultural fair associations, following an audit that criticizes several departments for lack of oversight on the fair organizations. Given ag fairs’ charitable gaming privileges and exemptions available for property and income taxes, Auditor General Kim MacPherson found “limited provincial processes to monitor compliance” with the […] Read more
Postal workers pledge to move bees, chicks if striking
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada Post and its unionized staff have agreed to set up a system in which workers would volunteer to move live animals, such as day-old chicks or bees, during a strike or lockout. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) said Tuesday it has a new agreement with the Crown corporation to move and deliver social […] Read more
Alberta sacks AFSC board over top brass’ expenses
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s government has dismissed the board of its farm financing and crop insurance agency following an internal probe into “expense and procurement practices” for senior executives. Three unnamed senior executives at Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) have also been “relieved from active duty,” the province said in a release Monday. The province on Monday named […] Read more
Olymel buying Quebec sausage maker
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec’s Olymel plans to consolidate its sausage business into a next-to-new processing plant, after making a deal to buy the plant’s owner. Olymel, the meat packing arm of La Coop federee, announced Tuesday it will buy Trois-Rivieres processor La Fernandiere for an undisclosed sum. La Fernandiere will “remain an autonomous entity” within Olymel, the company […] Read more
B.C. pension funds to get piece of Glencore ag unit
Reading Time: 2 minutes The investment firm for British Columbia’s public-sector pension funds is set to buy just under 10 per cent of the agricultural arm of commodities firm Glencore. Swiss-based Glencore announced Thursday it has a “definitive” deal to sell 9.99 per cent of its “Glencore Agri” business for US$624.9 million cash to the B.C. Investment Management Corp. […] Read more
CN promotes CFO as CEO resigns
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canadian National Railway’s (CN) chief financial officer Luc Jobin will become its chief executive on July 1, as incumbent CEO Claude Mongeau steps down for health reasons. Mongeau announced Tuesday he will resign as CN’s CEO at the end of June, after leading the railway company for six and a half years. “I was filled […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
