After beef’s biggest recall: What’s next?

The reopening of the XL beef plant at Brooks is not the end of troubles for the Canadian beef industry

The past two months have seen considerable turmoil in Alberta’s beef sector because of the XL beef recall. Although there has been some relief with the JBS takeover there could still be a long way to go. Canada’s beef sector has been influenced by a number of factors:  Grass. Western Canada’s cow-calf sector grew because

Why farmers should care

The debate over backyard poultry taking place inside Winnipeg these days seems far removed from the real world of agriculture. A coalition of citizens is asking the city to reconsider its refusal to allow urbanites to produce eggs in their backyards. They aren’t being taken very seriously. If Councillor Grant Nordman is any indication, the


Urban poultry enthusiasts want bylaw changed

Winnipeg chicken flocks may still run a “fowl” of the city’s exotic animal bylaw, but activists hope city changes rules

There were a few ruffled feathers at Winnipeg’s city hall when a group came to lobby for the right to keep laying hens in their urban backyards, but city officials are studying the issue. One woman was ordered out of council chambers when she produced a live chicken during a meeting of the city’s protection

Huge crop losses in southern Haiti from storm

As Hurricane Sandy barrelled toward the U.S. East Coast Oct. 29, the full extent of the storm’s havoc on Haiti was just beginning to emerge. Extensive damage to crops throughout the southern third of the country, as well as the high potential for a spike in cases of cholera and other water-borne diseases, could mean


More trade could end African food shortages

Reuters / Africa could avoid food shortages if it reduces the tangled web of rules, fees and high costs strangling regional food trade and by putting large swathes of uncultivated land to productive use, according to a World Bank report. Just five per cent of Africa’s cereal imports are now provided by African farmers, according



ADM swoops on Australia’s GrainCorp in Asian push

sydney / reuters / Archer Daniels Midland has bought a 10 per cent stake in GrainCorp and is seeking talks on a takeover that would give the U.S. agribusiness a stronger platform to supply Asia. The purchase comes at a time of global consolidation in the agricultural sector amid intense competition to feed fast-developing countries



Letters — for 2012-10-11 00:00:00

Government actions to blame Regarding the Sept. 6 story “Latest feed crisis may be too much for the battered hog sector, I believe there is another very important factor that should not be disregarded. For every action, there is and will be, an opposite and equal reaction. The final straw, in this most recent case,

Climate threat to world’s poor is underestimated

london / reuters Climate change will greatly increase the suffering of the world’s poor, says Oxfam. More frequent extreme weather events will create shortages, destabilize markets, and cause price spikes on top of projected structural price rises of about 100 per cent for staples such as maize over the next 20 years, the charity said