Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada on Wednesday took a cautious first step toward easing COVID-19 border restrictions, saying it was prepared to relax quarantine protocols for fully vaccinated citizens returning home starting in early July. Canada’s air and land borders have allowed for only essential travel since March of last year, and Canadians coming home […] Read more
Canada taking first step toward lifting border restrictions
U.S. border restrictions still in place until at least June 21
Taking care of business on a hybrid farm
When James Morin went into farming, the family chose to go regenerative, and they haven’t been able to keep up with consumer demand ever since
Reading Time: 10 minutes When James and Josée Morin decided to move from the city of Sudbury to the country in 2012, little did they know that by 2021, they’d be committed to the farm as a thriving business. It wasn’t in the plan. “We were just looking to get out of the city, get some land and put […] Read more
No passport required
Guide Canada: While the West sets new export records, Canada itself is becoming increasing global, and there’s no better proof than what Canadians are eating. So give yourself an education and a lot of fun by following travel writer Anna Hobbs’ tour of Toronto’s incredible culinary scene
Reading Time: 5 minutes As a food-loving travel writer, my work-world turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. True confession: More than once, I imagined a magic carpet that would whisk me off, far off, on an exotic culinary adventure. But wait! There is a wow foodie destination within Canada’s stay-safe borders and, as travel restrictions begin to ease, […] Read more
JBS able to pass on higher grain costs in North America
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s largest meatpacker, has been able to pass higher grain costs on to consumer prices because food demand is strong in markets such as the U.S. and Canada, executives said in an earnings call Thursday. In Brazil, where higher feed prices have dented margins of the company’s […] Read more
Networking in a new era
We thought the online age hit agriculture two decades ago. Then came the pandemic. Are you ready?
Reading Time: 9 minutes Everyone knows that farmers spend a lot of time on the farm, but farmers know how vital it is that they maintain excellent off-farm contacts too, whether it’s for the health of their businesses, the health of their soils, or their own personal and social health. In fact, farmers value networking as much or maybe […] Read more
Workers call strike at Olymel hog plant in Quebec
Producers urged to prioritize heavier hogs when shipping
Reading Time: 2 minutes Talks toward a new contract for unionized employees at meat packer Olymel’s hog slaughter and processing plant in Quebec’s Beauce region have ended in a strike. The Syndicat des travailleurs d’Olymel Vallee-Jonction-CSN, which represents over 1,000 staff at Vallee-Jonction, about 60 km southeast of Quebec City, called an “indefinite” strike effective Wednesday morning, the union […] Read more
Federal budget to offer direct payments to farmers for carbon pricing
Other new 'green growth' funding also on deck
Reading Time: 3 minutes The federal government’s 2021 budget offers up new spending to support farmers combatting climate change through targeted investments — and, in some cases, direct payments. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the budget Monday, showing the majority of new spending will take place over three years and be largely focused on “green growth.” “Budget 2021 announces […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs down on demand concerns
'We got a little bit ahead of ourselves'
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — CME Group hog futures fell sharply for the second day in a row on Friday, with the most-active June contract sinking 2.9 per cent to its lowest since March 23. Cattle futures also were weaker, with the June live cattle contract notching its seventh straight losing session. The market was correcting […] Read more
Set-aside funded for Quebec hog, cattle, big game producers
Feds, province pledge $21.8 million AgriRecovery plan
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers tending feeder hogs, fed cattle and big game animals such as elk, red deer, bison and wild boar in Quebec can expect $21.8 million in AgriRecovery to compensate for COVID-19’s drag on the province’s slaughter capacity. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her Quebec counterpart Andre Lamontagne on Thursday announced their governments’ respective 60-40 […] Read more
Cargill shuts Ontario chicken plant against COVID
Other packers being sought to take birds
Reading Time: 3 minutes Agrifood firm Cargill is seeking slaughter space for Ontario chickens at other processors after temporarily closing its London poultry packing plant Tuesday against an outbreak of COVID-19 among workers. The company said Tuesday it was “taking this step out of an abundance of caution as our local workforce deals with the community-wide impacts of COVID-19.” […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
