Judge says Chinese ownership irrelevant Sunday, October 4, 2015 References to the Chinese government, the Communist Party and China's People's Liberation Army are "highly prejudicial" and must be edited out of statements of claim against large pig farms, a North Carolina judge has ruled.According to Associated Press, U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt agreed with pork industry leaders that Chinese ownership of Murphy-Brown LLC has nothing to do with recently filed nuisance complaints against the farms, operating since the 1990s. Smithfield Foods bought Murphy-Brown in 2000, and was subsequently taken over by WH Group, based in China, in 2013.The judge did not excise allegations regarding exports to China, and Chinese demand for and purchase of pork, because those allegations address a potential source of the alleged nuisance and "provide potentially useful contextual information." The lawsuit contends that Chinese demand for more pork will only increase demand for more North Carolina pork. BF An action plan for Lyme disease Whole Foods introduces 'value-oriented' stores
A new front in the repair access debate Friday, March 6, 2026 Iowa lawmakers have pushed the right‑to‑repair conversation into new territory with House File 2529, a bill that focuses specifically on diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) systems—the single most common cause of emissions-related downtime on modern farm machinery. The bill would require... Read this article online
March 8 is International Women’s Day Friday, March 6, 2026 Across the United States and Canada, women are taking on increasingly visible roles in agriculture—managing farms, leading ag-tech startups, advancing research, and strengthening the rural economies that feed both nations. Their work reflects a shift in an industry once defined... Read this article online
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to Visit Toronto and Southwestern Ontario Tuesday, March 3, 2026 The Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry will be in Toronto and Southwestern Ontario later this week as part of its ongoing study on the role of Canada’s agriculture and agri‑food sector in strengthening national food security. The fact‑finding mission is scheduled for... Read this article online
AgriStability Program Updated to Include Pasture-Related Feed Costs Beginning in 2026 Monday, March 2, 2026 In case you missed it last week, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced that pasture-related feed costs will be added as an allowable expense under AgriStability starting with the 2026 program year. The update addresses rising operational... Read this article online
Bringing more Food and Ingredient Processing Back to Canadian Soil Monday, March 2, 2026 Protein Industries Canada has announced the second cohort of nine companies participating in its Program, an initiative designed to bring more food and ingredient processing back to Canadian soil and expand the nation’s value‑added agriculture sector. The selected companies span the... Read this article online