Feds plan to invest in processing projects

Feds plan to invest in processing projects

The money comes from a fund earmarked to help supply managed sectors hurt by trade deal

The federal government will invest $89 million in 49 processing projects in the supply managed sector. Agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay was in Ingleside, Ont., at the Lactalis Canada cheese plant to make the Feb. 5 announcement. The projects are through the six-year, $397.5-million Supply Management Processing Investment Fund, which is part of Ottawa's commitment to help sectors that lost market share due to trade agreements.

Sucro Can to open Canada’s largest sugar refinery in Hamilton

Sucro Can to open Canada’s largest sugar refinery in Hamilton

Facility will not have a direct impact on Ontario farmers

Sucro Can has announced plans to build Canada’s largest sugar-processing plant in Hamilton. The facility is expected to open in 2025 on lands owned by the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA). The plant will likely have little direct impact on Ontario farmers, as it will refine sugar cane imported from Central and South America, with no […] Read more


Ralph Christian Delos Santos of Biofect giving his pitch at the recent Ontario Agri Tech Pitch Competition at the University of Guelph.

Natural sugar substitute wins provincial agri-tech pitch competition

Annual competition highlights agricultural innovations

A self-proclaimed recovering sugar addict made the winning pitch at the 2023 Ontario Agri Tech Pitch Competition, walking away with $10,000 in prize money for his precision fermentation start-up, Biofect Innovations. Why it matters: Governments around the world are changing how sugar is labelled and used in food products, so food and beverage manufacturers are […] Read more

University of Guelph students conduct research at the Ontario Dairy Research Centre in Elora.

ARIO Act revamp to include food processing, updated name

The agricultural research body may get its first major update in 60 years

A proposed modernization of the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario Act would broaden its mandate and update language that now limits its scope. Ontario released a discussion paper on the potential updates and changes to the Act on March 15 and will accept comments until April 14. Why it matters: The Agricultural Research Institute of […] Read more


Using all the available milk ingredients in an efficient and timely manner is the best way to ease the squeeze on profit margins in the dairy processing sector.

More dairy drying capacity needed

Michael Barrett sees it as investment for future of dairy processing

Additional drying capacity should be a top priority for Ontario’s dairy sector, according to recently retired Gay Lea Foods CEO Michael Barrett. “If we had another dryer, I would not be afraid to say we could sell everything that we put through that facility,” Barrett told attendees during his Feb. 22 keynote presentation at the […] Read more

(Photo illustration: Nevodka/iStock/Getty Images)

Italy moves to ban lab-grown food in drive to protect tradition

Ag lobby praises government move; angry reactions from food companies, animal rights groups

Rome | Reuters –– Italy’s government on Tuesday approved a bill banning the use of laboratory-produced food and animal feed as it aims to safeguard the country’s agri-food heritage, its agriculture minister told a news conference after a cabinet meeting. If the proposal is passed by parliament, Italian industry will not be allowed to produce […] Read more

A challenge identified by Food and Beverage Ontario CEO Chris Conway is that food processing is not considered manufacturing. As a result, food processing tends to fall out of the conversation when governments and society talks about economic recovery.

Is processing at a tipping point?

Labour, capacity and access to capital make Ontario processing a challenge

The inability to achieve production-line capacity was cited for the recent closure of two Canadian-owned food processing facilities serving the country’s densest population centres. The closures, combined with soon-to-take-effect closures of two further-processing pork factories in Quebec, leave primary producers of both vegetables and livestock hoping this isn’t a sign of things to come. Pickle […] Read more


cooking ideas

Supporting food innovation beyond the farm gate

Canadian Food Innovation Network encourages collaboration across the country

The agriculture sector is familiar with research and innovation from the field to the farm gate. Less well known is the need for innovation beyond the farm gate. That’s where the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) has been filling a gap. CFIN was launched about 18 months ago with the goal of funding innovation and […] Read more

External view of the U.S. Department of Labor headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 30, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Andrew Kelly)

U.S. to crack down on child labour amid massive uptick

Food processing plants among alleged offenders

Washington | Reuters — The Biden administration in the U.S. announced measures to crack down on child labour on Monday amid a steep rise in violations and investigative reports by Reuters and other news outlets on illegal employment of migrant minors in dangerous industries. U.S. officials said the Labor Department had seen a nearly 70 […] Read more