Reading Time: 3 minutes Pork and poultry packer Olymel is set to close the further processing plant it operates in its home town in Quebec as it exits the lard production business. The company, an arm of ag co-operative Sollio, announced Thursday it will close its St. Jacques Street plant at St. Hyacinthe, Que. effective Feb. 10, affecting 107 […] Read more
Olymel to exit lard business, shut plant
Packer's St. Hyacinthe facility to permanently close
Quebec Liberals’ new ag critic to also handle health file
Fortin to also handle regional development, forestry
Reading Time: 2 minutes A quick re-shuffling of shadow cabinet responsibilities will see the agriculture critic for Quebec’s provincial opposition Liberals now also handle the health file. The Liberals’ interim leader Marc Tanguay — who took over after the Nov. 7 resignation of Dominique Anglade following the Oct. 3 general election — announced Tuesday that Andre Fortin, the party’s […] Read more
Alberta reorganizes ag portfolio for returning minister
Horner to handle agriculture and irrigation file
Reading Time: 2 minutes Both Alberta and Quebec have re-upped with their incumbent agriculture ministers in cabinet shuffles this week — but incoming Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s shuffle will also streamline that province’s ag portfolio. Chosen by Alberta’s governing United Conservatives (UCP) on Oct. 6 to replace outgoing premier Jason Kenney, Smith on Friday announced Kenney’s incumbent minister of […] Read more
Avian flu circles back to Quebec
Saskatchewan's bird mingling ban held over
Reading Time: 3 minutes Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu have returned to Quebec’s poultry sector after a lull of just over two months, while more Canadian cases continue to pile up at points west. Canada’s fall migratory season for wild birds appears to have led to the return of outbreaks in both commercial and backyard poultry flocks and […] Read more
Quebec ag minister cruises to re-election
Legault's CAQ scores bigger second majority
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec’s incumbent agriculture, food and fisheries minister will be returning to the province’s legislature as part of an even larger government caucus. Preliminary results in Monday’s provincial election put Francois Legault’s Coalition avenir Quebec (CAQ) in a solid majority government position with 90 of 125 seats, followed by Dominique Anglade’s Liberals, remaining in official opposition […] Read more
Atlantic Canada on Hurricane Fiona’s path, broad impact expected
Parts of Nova Scotia more vulnerable to flooding
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Hurricane Fiona is headed toward Eastern Canada and is expected to reach its Atlantic region by Friday in what could be a severe weather event as the storm continues to gain strength, Canadian meteorologists said Wednesday. Fiona powered up to a Category 4 storm on Wednesday, packing winds as high as 215 km/h, […] Read more
Drought, costs bring U.S. berry giants to maple syrup land
U.S. firms testing commercial production in Quebec, Ontario
Reading Time: 3 minutes Montreal/Ottawa | Reuters — A swath of Canada better known for maple syrup is being tested to mass produce berries normally grown in warmer locales, making it the unexpected beneficiary of extreme weather, local demand and rising costs in traditional growing areas like California. Driscoll’s and grower-owned Naturipe Farms, two of North America’s largest fruit […] Read more
Quebec’s UPA hit by ransomware attack
Farm organization, affiliate bodies affected
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec’s overarching farmer organization, l’Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), has confirmed its computer systems were hit by a ransomware attack earlier this month. UPA, in a release last Thursday, said it’s working with a cybersecurity firm to analyze the nature and scope of the attack, as well as any possible solutions to securely restore its […] Read more
Agropur cheese plant workers take deal, halt strike
Milk not taken at Granby, Que. plant for over five weeks
Reading Time: 2 minutes Milk delivery to a major cheese plant in Eastern Canada is expected to resume soon as unionized employees at dairy co-operative Agropur’s facility at Granby, Que. end a five-and-a-half-week strike. The plant’s 250-odd workers, represented by the Syndicat des salaries de la fromagerie — an arm of Centrale des syndicats democratiques (CSD) — have voted […] Read more
Direct compensation for fertilizer tariffs not on table
Eastern farm groups call for help ahead of fall seeding
Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers in Eastern Canada who rely on imports of Russian-made fertilizers aren’t going to see direct compensation for the federal government’s general tariff on those products. A clutch of farmer and ag industry groups on July 15 put forward a new request to Ottawa for compensation to farmers “negatively impacted” by a 35 per cent […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
