Greenpeace scores big in Brazil Monday, October 5, 2009 If you don't think environmental advocacy group Greenpeace has clout south of the Equator, think again. In June, Brazilian meat and poultry processor Marfrig Alimentos S.A. said it would no longer buy cattle or sell beef from cattle raised in the deforested area of the Amazon region. Major Brazilian retailers quickly followed suit.The reason? Greenpeace published a three-year study charging that the cattle sector in the Brazilian Amazon is the largest cause of deforestation in the world.Shortly after the publication, Marfrig promised to develop a "Cattle Origin Guarantee Program" to ensure that the company and its suppliers fattening cattle don't buy animals from areas embargoed by IBAMA, Brazil's federal environmental agency, or from areas on the slave labour list of Brazil's Ministry of Labour and Employment.Furthermore, proprietors with multiple farms are off Marfrig's supplier list until all of their farms are in compliance.About the same time JBS S.A., reportedly the world's largest beef producer and exporter, announced it had signed a deal with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ensuring that it won't supply beef from cattle from the embargoed area. BF What's organic and what's 'natural'? Ginseng a remedy for Type 2 diabetes?
Ontario Pig Producer Disease Advisory -- PED and PDCoV Risks Rising This Winter Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) and Porcine Deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) continue to pose significant risks to swine operations across the industry. Both viruses are highly infectious, spread easily through manure, contaminated equipment, transport vehicles, and human movement, and can have... Read this article online
Ag Minister Launches National Consultations to Shape the Next Agricultural Policy Framework Tuesday, January 20, 2026 As Canada begins charting its next decade of agricultural policy, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri Food, officially launched national consultations on the development of the Next Policy Framework (NPF)—the federal, provincial, and territorial agreement that... Read this article online
Syngenta introduces new soybean seed treatment Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Soybean farmers have a new crop protection product available to them for the 2026 growing season. Syngenta recently introduced Victrato Complete, its new fungicide and nematicide seed treatment. “It’s the only fungicide and nematicide seed treatment with five active ingredients that’ll... Read this article online
Yield Energy debuts ag-focused DERMS to turn farm operations into grid assets Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Yield Energy, the company formerly known as Polaris Energy Services, has launched a new distributed energy resource management system designed specifically for agriculture—a move that positions farms as a major source of flexible, utility-grade grid support. The new platform, ,... Read this article online
CLAAS earns two AE50 Awards for advancing forage harvesting technology Monday, January 19, 2026 CLAAS of America has been recognized with two from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE), highlighting the company’s continued leadership in forage harvesting innovation. The awards honor the newly introduced series self-propelled forage harvesters... Read this article online