Reading Time: 3 minutes Quebec’s agriculture minister has telegraphed an interest in following the lead of a next-door neighbour to require mandatory labelling for foods made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The province’s governing Liberals previously called for such a system, making a GMO label law part of their election platform back in 2003, but have been quiet about their […] Read more
Quebec again ponders mandatory GMO labelling
Cara to buy St-Hubert restaurant, food businesses
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — Cara Operations, owner of the Swiss Chalet casual dining chain and Harvey’s burger outlets, said Thursday it will buy St-Hubert BBQ, one of Quebec’s largest casual dining chains, for $537 million to gain a foothold in the province. The deal, expected to close this summer pending regulatory approvals, was cheered by analysts and investors. […] Read more
Leap into 2016 with these agricultural meetings and conferences
There are great learning opportunities in the meetings, conferences and information sessions early in the new year, so here’s help to maximize your take-homes
Reading Time: 6 minutes It’s no secret that margins, timing and opportunity are all pretty tight these days. Quite simply, there’s more riding on your performance, both in the office and in the field. That’s why the winter season, with its multitude of offerings for meeting, networking and learning has become so important. It’s also why Country Guide is […] Read more
Quebec heading toward neonic limits on crops
Reading Time: 4 minutes The Quebec government is preparing consultations ahead of a wide legislative swath through the province’s pesticide sector, to limit farmers’ use of neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments and certain other pesticides. Environment Minister David Heurtel on Sunday released the province’s pesticide strategy for 2015 to 2018, mapping out the Couillard government’s plans in those years to […] Read more
Maximize efficiency above all else
East of Montreal, Billy Beaudry knows he’s under pressure to choose the right corn technologies
Reading Time: 6 minutes Farming in Quebec typically calls to mind those long, narrow ribbons of land that run inland from the St. Lawrence River. But that’s not the reality that Billy Beaudry and his family face on their farm about a third of the way toward the U.S. border, on a plateau between the St. Lawrence and the […] Read more
Quebec to halt ASRA for veal sector
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec’s farm finance and funding agency plans to remove the veal sector from the province’s ASRA income stabilization program starting next year. La Financiere agricole du Quebec (FADQ) announced Friday that its board had agreed to end ASRA (Assurance stabilisation des revenus agricoles) coverage for Quebec’s milk-fed veal calf operations, effective Jan. 1, 2016. Affected producers, after that […] Read more
Quebec plans new legal status for animals
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec’s agriculture minister has tabled a new provincial government bill to raise the legal status of domestic and farmed animals in the province beyond that of “furniture.” Pierre Paradis on Friday introduced Bill 54 in the provincial assembly, with the stated goal of enshrining animals in Quebec’s Civil Code as sentient beings — that is, feeling and […] Read more
Quebec haymakers use homemade dryer to improve quality
The Normandins also modified a small hay baler to convert big square bales into small ones
Reading Time: 2 minutes David Normandin and his brother Mathieu preferred driving tractors to milking cows and that’s why they make hay and not milk. The brothers, along with their father Luc and Luc’s partner’s daughter, Audrey Mailloux, operate Norfoin Inc., 57 km southeast of Montreal in the Montérégie region of la belle province. The operation had been a […] Read more
Que. pledges reserve to backstop risk management programs
Reading Time: < 1 minute Quebec’s agriculture ministry plans to set up a $300 million reserve fund to backstop any sudden shortfalls in provincial risk management program funds for farmers. Speaking Thursday to the provincial pork producer group, Les Eleveurs de porcs du Quebec, Agriculture Minister Pierre Paradis said the province will set up the reserve over the next two […] Read more
Farrowing barn is Quebec’s ninth PED case
Reading Time: 2 minutes Animal health officials in Quebec’s Monteregie have confirmed three more hog operations with cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) since Friday. The province’s swine health team (EQSP) said Friday it had confirmed PED in hogs at a 2,700-head nursery operation at St-Aime, with an epidemiological link to the province’s sixth case at a nearby nursery […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
