Sheep nabbing case goes to trial Thursday, December 17, 2015 by JOE CALLAHANAn Ontario sheep nabbing case will proceed to trial next year, says the Crown attorney involved in the matter.The preliminary hearing into charges laid against Linda (Montana) Jones, Michael Schmidt and Robert Pinnell has concluded, and according to Crown Attorney Damien Frost, all three have been committed to trial on all charges.A judicial pre-trial hearing is scheduled for April 20, 2016 in Superior Court of Justice in Peterborough.The case dates back to 2012 when sheep were abducted from Jones’ farm in Northumberland County while the farm was under a Canadian Food Inspection Agency quarantine.Jones, Schmidt and Pinnell face charges of conspiracy to commit obstruction of a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) officer, to transport or 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 obstruction a police officer, both under the Criminal Code.Charges have not yet been proven in court. BF Farm community protests conservation authority's slow response time on permits Pigeon King wins parole while victims divvy up PKI scraps
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