Tennessee backs down on ag-gag law Monday, August 5, 2013 In June's Better Pork, we reported that lawmakers voted to make Tennessee the latest state to approve a so-called "ag-gag" law, a bill to make it illegal to record animal cruelty incidents on livestock farms without reporting them to the police right away.Just after we went to press, Tennessee Republican governor Bill Haslam vetoed the bill, following the opinion of his Democratic attorney general that it wouldn't pass a constitutional challenge, freedom of speech being nearly as important in that country as freedom to own a gun.According to Meatingplace.com, Haslam also cited concerns that the new law might take away reporters' rights to gather information for stories, and that it might be harder to prosecute legitimate animal cruelty cases "as an unintended consequence."As well, a number of Tennessee celebrities jumped on the bandwagon, among them songwriter Emmylou Harris, country music singer Carrie Underwood and even Priscilla Presley. The Humane Society of the United States sees it as a victory; the Animal Agriculture Alliance, which writes and speaks out against animal rights legislation, is not pleased. BP A Chinese takeover of Smithfields? The battle of the polls over gestation stalls
New Irrimap tool designed to improve irrigation and crop management Wednesday, September 9, 2026 A new tool is available to help Alberta farmers and trusted ag advisors make better irrigation decisions. The web-based program is called Irrimap and is the result of work at Lethbridge Polytechnic’s Mueller Irrigation Research Group (MIRG) with support from AAFC and the Saskatchewan... Read this article online
New Manitoba-EIT Food Partnership Fuels Agrifood Growth Wednesday, September 9, 2026 The Government of Manitoba and EIT Food have announced a strategic partnership aimed at strengthening Manitoba’s agriculture and agrifood innovation ecosystem while supporting sustainable growth and global competitiveness. The collaboration will connect Manitoba’s agricultural... Read this article online
Conservatives commit to hold Liberals to account over research farms Wednesday, September 9, 2026 When Parliament resumes this fall, the Conservatives are committed to holding the government accountable for its closure of multiple research farms. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilevre on Sept. 7told reporters “Yes” when asked if there would be more action from the opposition on this... Read this article online
Canada Breaks Ground on Largest Carbon Capture Project, Creating Potential Opportunities for Agriculture Wednesday, September 9, 2026 Canada has taken a step toward net-zero emissions goals with the launch of construction on what is expected to become the country's largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) project. Federal and Alberta government officials joined Enhance Energy on September 9 to mark the start of... Read this article online
Stephen Heckbert Takes FVGC Leadership Tuesday, September 8, 2026 The Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC)hasnamedStephen Heckbertas its new Executive Director. He officially assumed the role on September 8 andbringsmore than 25 years of leadership experience in communications, advocacy, and organizational management. Heckbert is well known... Read this article online