Reading Time: 2 minutes Under pressure in the Commons Tuesday, the federal government has committed to “look into options” to compensate Alberta and Saskatchewan producers having to feed cattle they’re prohibited from selling. Federal Conservative and NDP agriculture critics David Anderson and Ruth Ellen Brosseau separately took the government to task this week over the costs producers have to […] Read more
Federal Tories, NDP press for TB quarantine compensation
Bovine TB probe turns up more TB-positive cattle
Reading Time: 2 minutes Federal inspectors have confirmed a southeastern Alberta cow found with bovine tuberculosis in September was not just a one-off. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Friday reported five more cattle from the initial cow’s index herd in southeastern Alberta are confirmed to have been infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria — presumed to be to be […] Read more
Bovine TB strain of Mexican origin in Alberta probe
Reading Time: 2 minutes While new to Canada, the strain of tuberculosis bacteria which infected the Alberta cow at the centre of a bovine TB probe has been seen before in Mexico. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday reported the strain of Mycobacterium bovis found in a southeastern Alberta cow is “closely related” to a strain originating from […] Read more
Bovine TB quarantines push into Saskatchewan
Reading Time: 2 minutes Two farms in southwestern Saskatchewan have been added to the list of those under federal quarantine as inspectors widen their search for cattle exposed to a new-to-Canada strain of bovine tuberculosis (TB). As of Thursday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it had “approximately 33” farms in Alberta and two in Saskatchewan under quarantine. The […] Read more
Cull sows no longer stopped at U.S. border
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s swine industry appears to have dodged what could have been an economic catastrophe with quick action on senecavirus A. In August this year, 13 Ontario animals were identified with lesions on their snouts or hooves at a processing plant in the U.S., triggering a memo from the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service to […] Read more
Bovine TB case probed in southeastern Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes About 30 farms in southeastern Alberta are under federal quarantine as federal and provincial officials try to track down cattle exposed to bovine tuberculosis (TB). The investigation follows a notice in late September from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that a cow from Alberta had tested positive for bovine TB at a U.S. slaughter plant. […] Read more
Ontario hogs confirmed with senecavirus
Reading Time: 2 minutes A hog virus watched closely in North America for its strong family resemblance to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has turned up in hogs in Ontario. Officials with hog industry body Ontario Pork reported Monday that senecavirus A, formerly called Seneca Valley virus or SVV, has been confirmed in the province. Neighbouring industry body Manitoba Pork said […] Read more
Avian flu quarantine ends for Ontario duck farm
Reading Time: 2 minutes A federal quarantine has been lifted for a duck farm near St. Catharines, Ont. where birds were confirmed in July with low-pathogenicity (“low-path”) avian flu. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has reported the quarantine was lifted effective Sept. 20, at the end of a 21-day waiting period after the commercial-scale farm was depopulated, cleaned and […] Read more
Switzerland to recognize Canada’s organic wine, processed foods
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canada and Switzerland have reached a deal to recognize each other’s organic certifications on wine and “multi-ingredient” foods. The two countries on Thursday announced expansions of their previous organic arrangement, which deems their respective certification systems to be equivalent for organic ag commodities and agrifood products. The amended deal takes effect Saturday (Oct. 1). The […] Read more
Systems set to ship Canadian wild rice to China
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian wild rice producers, warehousers and processors interested in exporting to China now have a certification system in place to do so, clearing the way for Chinese market access. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday released details of a new certification program in which the agency can approve Canadian wild rice processing, warehousing and […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
