File photo of rye at a grain market in India. (Deepak Sethi/E+/Getty Images)

Indian cabinet minister quits over farm legislation

New Delhi | Reuters — India’s minister for food processing resigned on Thursday over her opposition to planned laws to allow farmers to sell produce directly to bulk buyers and make contract farming easier, saying the legislation will hurt millions of the country’s farmers. “Proud to stand with farmers as their daughter and sister,” Harsimrat […] Read more

E.O.I Technologies founder Alex Sulkin presents at the Techstars accelerator competition.

Sensor technology could prevent foreign material contamination in processing plants

Contamination is detected from a distance away from the assembly line, avoiding extra cleaning and processes

A Calgary-based start-up is about to start trials on an innovation for food processing facilities it says can prevent foreign material contamination of food products. E.O.I Technologies is preparing to launch a pilot project with a major poultry processor in the southern United States that focuses on large-scale, remote monitoring and predictive analytics of conveyor […] Read more

(PortOfHalifax.ca)

Ottawa expected to ‘officially’ declare ag an essential service

The Western Grain Elevator Association says that designation will clarify things and help to keep grain moving

Canada’s grain industry expects the federal government will soon officially declare agriculture an essential service. Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), says that designation will have a practical application. “Hopefully it ends all confusion about grain workers at elevators, railway workers and anybody else required for moving grain, as to […] Read more

Plenty CEO and co-founder Matt Barnard says his company is now competitive with organic competitors but critics say vertical farms are simply too expensive to run.

Are vertical farms ready for prime time?

Indoor farm companies say they’re scaling up, but many question their business model

Reuters – Leafy salad greens grown under banks of LED lights, with mist or drips of water are having their day in the sun. Several top U.S. indoor farms say they are boosting production to a level where they can now supply hundreds of grocery stores. Plenty, Bowery, Aerofarms and 80 Acres Farms are among young companies […] Read more

Cathy Lennon, general manager of the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers Association, says having a Canadian company investing in Canadian vegetable processing is great news.

New pickle plant coming to Wallaceburg

Whyte’s Foods will create 100 jobs and use Ontario cucumbers and peppers in a refurbished plant

Pickles will once again be processed in Ontario. A large crowd of farmers, politicians, community members and local officials gathered in Wallaceburg on Aug. 23 to hear representatives from Whyte’s Foods Inc. – a large Canadian pickled vegetables company based in Quebec – announce plans to create a new pepper and cucumber processing facility in […] Read more


Asking the right questions: AMI guide designed to assist farm and food entrepreneurs

Asking the right questions: AMI guide designed to assist farm and food entrepreneurs

Farmers trying to grow a direct-sale food business from the farmers’ market or roadside stand to a retail level face an imposing regulatory system. Navigating this system without help can levy artificial limits on the market potential of unique farm-sourced products. There are resources to help manage these regulatory growing pains, however. Ontario’s Agri-Food Management […] Read more

packed frozen food in a freezer in a supermarket

Making frozen veggies more tasty

Some people regard frozen vegetables as a disappointing alternative when fresh veggies are not available. But that is likely to change with new methods of preparing food for cold storage. Dr. Tony Savard and his team from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s St-Hyacinthe Research Development Centre re-examined the usual way of treating vegetables -blanching – which […] Read more

The merger of Food and Beverage Ontario and the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Processors Association will give the two groups a more unified voice on industry issues of concern.

Food processing groups amalgamate

Food and Beverage Ontario and the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Processors Association announced a new agreement May 15 to work together to streamline operations. The new agreement will help the organizations have a more unified voice on shared industry issues and relations with government. Food and Beverage Ontario will provide operational support to Ontario Fruit […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill expands food starch line-up in ‘clean label’ push

New York | Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill said on Tuesday it will increase its offerings of starch product options, seeking to capture rising demand for simpler ingredients and to meet changing consumer tastes. The Minneapolis-based agribusiness will now sell new “native starches” produced from plants such as corn and wheat, as an alternative […] Read more

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, Verdient’s James Cameron and Suzy Amis Cameron and PIC’s Greg and Olivia Yuel (l-r) announce the opening of the Verdient plant at Vanscoy. (Golden Media photo by Chad Reynold)

Film director Cameron backing Saskatchewan organic pea plant

A major new pulse plant has set up shop southwest of Saskatoon with plans to help back development of pulse-based foods and mentor organic growers — and bringing with it a pair of unusually high-profile investors. Verdient Foods on Monday announced the opening of a pulse food processing plant at Vanscoy, Sask., with plans for […] Read more