(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

PigTrace tag prices go up Dec. 15

Program costs 'unsustainable' without price increase

Reading Time: < 1 minute One of the prices producers pay for hog traceability will be going up 10 per cent. The Manitoba Pork Council said in a notice to producers Wednesday that the Canadian Pork Council will apply a 10 per cent increase to the prices of PigTrace ear tags and accessories, effective Dec. 15. Table: PigTrace ear tag […] Read more

File photo of goats on display at the Hanover Agricultural Fair in Grunthal, Man. in August 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

Fairs, exhibitions concerned over new traceability proposals

Event volunteers may lack skills needed, association says

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Association of Fairs and Exhibitions (CAFE) says proposed federal regulations regarding livestock traceability are putting animal events across the country at risk. Their concerns centre around new directives centred around moving and tagging which they say would affect Canada’s 5,000 fairs, rodeos and other events. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has proposed that […] Read more


File photo of goats on display at the Hanover Agricultural Fair in Grunthal, Man. in August 2019. (Dave Bedard photo)

CFIA seeks feedback on traceability, animal ID amendments

Producers have until June 16 to comment on proposals

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is now seeking comment on its proposed amendments to livestock identification and traceability regulations. The regulatory proposal would address what the agency calls “gaps” in the current system, including: adding goats and cervids as animal species that share diseases with other regulated livestock, and therefore subject to traceability requirements, shortening […] Read more

(Obhecc.com)

Ontario’s broiler egg tracking systems backed for upgrades

Reading Time: < 1 minute Systems used to track broiler hatching egg and chick production in Ontario will get upgrades using federal-provincial cost-shared funding. The federal and Ontario governments on Monday last week announced up to $141,450 through the Place to Grow: Agri-food Innovation Initiative, a Canadian Agricultural Partnership program, for the Ontario Broiler Hatching Egg and Chick Commission (OBHECC). […] Read more


One Dutch pork producer is preparing to implement a blockchain initiative to make its production chain more transparent.

Blockchain essentials

At last, here’s a clear explanation of what the blockchain fuss is all about, and why it may be such a winner for agriculture

Reading Time: 4 minutes Traceability, food safety and fighting food fraud are issues of significant importance to food producers around the world. In fact, with supply chains getting more complex and ever-more global, and with consumers becoming increasingly both more curious and more wary about how and from where food gets to their plate, these issues may never have […] Read more

Photo: Canada Beef Inc.

Livestock premises ID participation strengthens Canadian agriculture

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is considering changes to the Health of Animals Regulations for livestock traceability, the agency announced during PremisesIDWeek July 26, a federal release says. The changes would require all Canadian operators of premises where livestock may be loaded or unloaded from a vehicle to have a valid premises identification number for […] Read more


(PHMilling.com)

Ottawa to back P+H’s Hamilton flour mill

Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg agrifood firm Parrish and Heimbecker has lined up more government financing for its planned new flour mill at Hamilton, this time from the federal level. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay on Thursday announced a $10 million “repayable investment” in the project from the AgriInnovation program, part of the Growing Forward 2 ag policy funding framework. […] Read more

(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Fines now an option for pig traceability enforcement

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian hog producers who don’t follow the federal requirements for animal identification and tracking of animal movements could now be fined for non-compliance, though it’s expected such fines would be a “last resort.” The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday announced new amendments to the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Regulations, allowing CFIA-designated officials […] Read more


bag of certified seed

The slow road to traceability for grains and oilseeds

Traceability may be inevitable, and it may even be welcomed by farmers, but it is arriving in baby steps

Reading Time: 5 minutes The word gets rolled out every time there’s a scare about food-borne illness, or when a meat or vegetable recall hits the headlines. It’s traceability. On the food side of the agri-food industry, it’s a word that instils confidence and trust. Yet on the agricultural side — at least, on the crop side — it […] Read more