Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau in the House of Commons March 22. (Budget.gc.ca via YouTube)

Agrifood a pillar in federal budget’s ‘innovation’ plan

The federal government’s latest budget puts up Canada’s agrifood sector as one of six “key areas” to benefit from a new national “Innovation and Skills Plan.” Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau on Wednesday unveiled a budget projecting $330.2 billion in expenses in 2017-18 against budgetary revenues of $304.7 billion, for a $28.5 billion deficit. The […] Read more

(Canada Beef Inc. photo)

Brazil ag ministry, police say meat problems not widespread

Lapa, Brazil | Reuters — Brazil’s federal police and agriculture ministry said late Tuesday that sanitary and corruption problems found in the nation’s meatpacking industry were isolated incidents, an attempt to tamp down a scandal that has led the Latin American nation’s biggest export markets to ban its meats. Since police launched raids on processing […] Read more

In this photo of a wilt-affected plant’s stem at harvest, black microsclerotia can be seen just below the surface layer. (Gov.mb.ca/agriculture)

No point in quarantine for verticillium wilt, CFIA says

Slapping federal quarantines on canola fields with verticillium wilt wouldn’t serve much purpose, since the yield-robbing fungi is already in all of Canada’s major canola-growing areas, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says. While the agency itself is recommending against regulation, CFIA on Wednesday posted a draft of a risk management document on verticillium wilt, seeking […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Canada blocks poultry, eggs from Tennessee, Alabama

Cross-border travellers coming into Canada from the U.S. are being warned not to bring in raw poultry or eggs from Tennessee or Alabama following outbreaks of avian flu in those states. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday announced restrictions on imports of uncooked poultry products, live birds and/or eggs from those two states until […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Bovine TB probe’s focus turns to infected herd

With no new cases of bovine tuberculosis discovered on the Prairies since mid-November, federal officials are now turning their focus to how the disease got into half a dozen cattle in the region last fall. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday it has finished TB-screening and depopulating all mature cattle from 18 properties that […] Read more


Midge larvae inside a canola floret. Federal researchers have documented a new midge species in Prairie canola that differs significantly from the swede midge it was believed to be. (AAFC photo by Julie Soroka from CanolaWatch.org)

Anonymous midge appears in Prairie canola

Canola crops in northeastern Saskatchewan and east-central Alberta have run up against a potential pest problem so new it doesn’t yet have a name. Researchers with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the University of Guelph and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have reported a new species of midge damaging canola crops in those areas. The species […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Eight more quarantines added in bovine TB probe

UPDATED, Jan. 23, 2017 — Another eight properties housing about 2,000 cattle have been put under federal quarantine since last week as officials continue to track down livestock exposed to bovine tuberculosis (TB). The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday pegged the number of premises under quarantine at about 58, and the number of animals […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

More bovine TB quarantines still expected

Tracking an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis through southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan is still expected to lead to more quarantines of more Prairie cattle ranches, though no new controls have been imposed since before Christmas. As of Wednesday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported no new cases of bovine TB in its investigation, beyond the […] Read more


Cattle amble through fresh snow in northwestern Saskatchewan on Oct. 22, 2016. (Lisa Guenther photo)

Saskatchewan taking livestock premises ID mandatory

Saskatchewan livestock producers wanting to take part in provincial programs will soon have to have a valid premises identification (ID) number. The provincial and federal governments on Thursday announced the new requirement for Saskatchewan producers will take effect “over the coming months.” The province has had a voluntary premises ID (PID) program in place since […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

No TB quarantines lifted over holidays

None of the 50 ranch properties still under federal quarantine for bovine tuberculosis in southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan have been released in the past two weeks, officials reported Thursday. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday resumed regular updates on its ongoing investigation into cases of bovine TB in the area. As of Thursday, […] Read more