Reading Time: 2 minutes Food safety officials in Canada and the U.S. have formally recognized each other’s respective food safety controls under a cross-border co-operation pact. The two countries last week announced their new food safety systems recognition arrangement, reached during meetings of the Canada-U.S. Regulatory Co-operation Council (RCC) held Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, D.C. The two countries […] Read more
Canada, U.S. to collaborate on food safety controls
A+W books further sales growth, shifts bacon sourcing
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian burger and root beer chain A+W has logged a 12th straight quarter of same-store sales growth, this time following a shift in pork sourcing for its bacon supply. The Vancouver-based income fund on Tuesday reported gross sales of $243.8 million among the 838 restaurants in its royalty pool for its first quarter ending March […] Read more
Farming uses exempt from Alberta off-roading ban
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s new provincewide ban on recreational use of off-highway vehicles (OHVs) in provincial parks and on other public lands won’t apply to their use in farm work. The provincial government announced the temporary OHV ban Friday as “another tool… to help prevent the spread of wildfires,” on top of Thursday’s provincewide fire ban and its […] Read more
Seeding canola into dry soils not out of question: CCC
Reading Time: 2 minutes Seeding now rather than waiting for rain may be a viable option for Prairie canola growers looking out on dry fields without much chance of precipitation, the Canola Council of Canada suggests. Facing temperatures in the mid-30s C, and soil moisture down at about the one- to two-inch mark, a few Prairie growers on social […] Read more
P.E.I. brings provincial vet job in-house
Reading Time: 2 minutes Relying until now on the services of the Atlantic Veterinary College, Prince Edward Island’s government has named a new in-house provincial veterinarian. The province on Tuesday named Dr. Carolyn Sanford to fill the post, in which she’ll oversee policy and regulatory issues related to animal health and welfare, including livestock and poultry as well as […] Read more
Earls retreats from U.S. beef sourcing
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian upscale-casual dining chain Earls Restaurants has pulled back from its recent public commitment to the “Certified Humane Beef” brand. Mo Jessa, president of Vancouver-based Earls, said Wednesday the company will instead begin to “work with local ranchers to build our supply of Alberta beef that meets our criteria” for animal care and treatment. The […] Read more
CPS to seek buyer for Sask. farm supply outlet
Reading Time: < 1 minute A deal for Agrium’s Crop Production Services (CPS) to buy a crop input retail chain in north-central Saskatchewan will require the company to sell off a retail outlet and a pair of its storage sites. The federal Competition Bureau on Monday announced it has an agreement with CPS over its planned deal to buy six […] Read more
Tories’ ex-ag critic named Manitoba ag minister
Reading Time: 2 minutes Manitoba’s incoming Progressive Conservative government has tapped one of its former critics on the agriculture and food file as its new minister of agriculture. Ralph Eichler, the MLA for the Interlake-area constituency of Lakeside since 2003, was sworn in Tuesday along with Premier Brian Pallister and 11 other cabinet ministers at Winnipeg’s Canadian Museum for […] Read more
Ottawa plans talks toward dairy farmers’ CETA compensation
Reading Time: 3 minutes The federal government has pledged to meet with dairy sector representatives within 30 days to draw up a compensation plan for concessions made in Canada’s planned free trade pact with the European Union. “Our conversations will address, among other issues, transition support for producers and processors, as well as proposed program and investment options,” Agriculture […] Read more
Poultry at risk for avian flu during migration
Reading Time: < 1 minute Cases of avian flu in commercial poultry in the U.S. and Mexico earlier this year are believed to have come from wild birds, which are now migrating north for the season, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned Friday. Avian influenza spreads when wild birds come into contact with commercial/small flocks, the agency said, urging producers […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
