Sheep nabbing case: Defendants can keep their lawyer, judge rules Wednesday, June 18, 2014 by JOE CALLAHAN Two people facing charges in connection with the disappearance in 2012 of sheep from a quarantined Northumberland County farm have been given the green light by an Ontario judge to share their lawyer. But they must wait another month before they can put their newly affirmed legal counsel to the test. On Tuesday in an Ontario Court of Justice in Cobourg, Judge Lorne Chester dismissed an application to have defense lawyer Shawn Buckley removed as co-counsel for Michael Schmidt and Linda (Montana) Jones. Crown attorney Damien Frost had filed the motion to remove Buckley. Frost had argued that there is the potential for a “cutthroat defense,” whereby one of Buckley’s clients could turn against the other in providing evidence for the Crown. However, in his roughly 40-minute oral ruling on Tuesday, Chester stated that Frost had not provided evidence that there is a “realistic risk” of a conflict of interest in Buckley’s role as co-counsel. Jones, from Hastings in Northumberland County and Schmidt, from Durham, along with Robert Pinnell of West Grey township, in Grey County, and Suzanne Atkinson, Warkworth, Northumberland County, face charges of conspiracy to commit obstruction of a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) officer, to transport or to cause to transport an animal under quarantine, and conspiracy to defraud the public of a service over $5,000 under the Criminal Code. Jones is also charged with obstructing a CFIA inspector under the Health of Animals Act and Pinnell faces a further charge of attempting to obstruct justice and another for obstructing a police officer, both under the Criminal Code. Prior to the livestock’s disappearance, Jones, a Shropshire sheep breeder, was embroiled in a dispute with the CFIA over its decision to destroy her flock following a positive test for scrapie, a federally reportable disease that is fatal to sheep and goats. The missing sheep were recovered later on a farm in western Ontario. Court proceedings will resume at a pre-trial hearing scheduled at the Ontario Court of Justice in Cobourg, August 18. BF George Morris Centre folds Institute calls for agri-food industry to work together to reverse troubling trade trend
Global grain trade gets a shake-up: What it means for Canadian farmers Tuesday, September 2, 2025 The global grain and oilseed trading industry is undergoing a major transformation—and Canadian farmers should take note. A recently published study in the September 2025 issue of discussed how the traditional dominance of a few multinational giants is giving way to a more competitive,... Read this article online
Canadian Farmers Face Weaker Soybean Yields Ahead Tuesday, September 2, 2025 Statistics Canada forecasts that Canadian soybean production will decline in 2025, reflecting weaker yields across major producing provinces. Nationally, output is projected to fall by 7.3% year over year to 7.0 million tonnes. The decline is linked to a drop in yields, which are expected... Read this article online
Canadian Corn Outlook Shows Mixed Regional Trends Tuesday, September 2, 2025 Statistics Canada projects Canadian corn-for-grain production to grow slightly in 2025, despite drier-than-normal weather and high temperatures that have pressured yields. National production is forecast to rise 1.4% year over year to 15.6 million tonnes. This gain comes from higher... Read this article online
Wheat Output Decline Projected for 2025 Tuesday, September 2, 2025 Statistics Canada’s latest modelled estimates suggest that wheat production in Canada will decline slightly in 2025, driven primarily by weaker yields across several regions. National output is expected to edge down 1.1% to 35.5 million tonnes, with yields forecast to fall 1.2% to 49.6... Read this article online
Scouting and Managing Resistant Weeds in Ontario Monday, September 1, 2025 As the growing season winds down, now is an ideal time for Ontario farmers to assess the effectiveness of their weed control strategies and prepare for the next growing year. Dr. Holly Byker, Agronomy Manager at the Ontario Crop Research Centre in Winchester, emphasizes the importance... Read this article online