Seasonal flu shots are recommended to help limit spread of flu viruses between people and livestock. (Inside Creative House/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Another swine flu variant case appears in Manitoba

Variant of H3N2 confirmed in southern Manitoba resident

A single and apparently isolated case of another influenza variant normally seen in hogs has turned up in a Manitoba resident, the province announced Monday. Manitoba Public Health on Monday said the H3N2 influenza variant (H3N2v) seen in this case is related to flu viruses that circulate in pigs, noting that while such viruses don’t


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Farm workers qualify for Alberta’s ‘critical worker’ benefit

Employers can apply starting Tuesday

Alberta has expanded the pool of workers eligible for its pandemic-related Critical Worker Benefit to include farm workers starting Tuesday (June 22). The province announced Tuesday that eligibility for the $1,200 payments would expand to more categories of workers who “provided critical services to Albertans, were essential to the supply and movement of goods, and

A vineyard at Naramata in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

B.C. again waives ag income threshold for farm properties

Some farms otherwise risked property tax reclassification

British Columbia farmers who’ve taken pandemic-induced losses in farm income will be able to keep their farm properties classified as such for another tax year. The province on Monday announced that for the second year running, it will waive the minimum farm income thresholds normally required for B.C. properties to be classified as farms for


(Canada Border Services Agency video screengrab)

Canada taking first step toward lifting border restrictions

U.S. border restrictions still in place until at least June 21

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

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Early-pandemic calls to localize supply chains unfounded

With a year's worth of data, three agriculture economists revisit early-pandemic predictions on the food supply chain

With a year's worth of data, three agriculture economists revisit early-pandemic predictions on the food supply chain

A year of data shows early-pandemic calls for radical changes to food systems and risk management programs were unfounded, say some economists. Particularly in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, food supply chains struggled to adapt to changing consumption patterns and processors shut down due to virus outbreaks. “Into that void of uncertainty came


Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Winnipeg South MP Terry Duguid speak with a panel of Manitoba women in agriculture which was broadcasted live on Facebook on April 27.

Federal ag minister talks childcare with Manitoba farm women

The Liberal government pledged to fund Canada-wide childcare as part of its 2021 budget

The Liberal government pledged to fund Canada-wide childcare as part of its 2021 budget

Farm families need access to flexible childcare to allow women farmers to better balance their lives, the federal ag minister told media and a panel of Manitoba women in agriculture. “If we want Canadian agriculture to be more economically and environmentally sustainable, we must break down the barriers for hard-working women in the sector,” said

Provincial childcare report offers few fixes for farm families

Provincial childcare report offers few fixes for farm families

Funding channels for the extended-hours care farm families need are already in place but need more dollars

A recent provincial report which recommends the province fix Manitoba’s childcare system through ‘market stewardship’ is just more of what got us into this mess, says one childcare expert. “In a way it’s just a new rhetorical package for an old reality,” said Susan Prentice, a childcare researcher from the University of Manitoba. The report’s


(Sollio Co-operative Group video screengrab via YouTube)

Workers call strike at Olymel hog plant in Quebec

Producers urged to prioritize heavier hogs when shipping

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

A worker at Cargill’s London, Ont. chicken plant demonstrates the deboning process for a 2014 McDonald’s video on the meat used to make McNuggets. (McDonald’s Canada video screengrab via YouTube)

Cargill shuts Ontario chicken plant against COVID

Other packers being sought to take birds

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.”