Smoke and mirrors on 'free range' in Oz? Monday, April 5, 2010 Last year, Humane Society International surveyed more than 3,000 Australians and found that over 93 per cent questioned didn't know that the label "free range" applied to meat from pigs that had access to the outdoors only in the first few weeks of life before being transferred to a "factory farming operation."Lisa Chalk, communications manager for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), complains that terms like "free range," "corn-fed" and "organic" are used inconsistently. Australia's largest animal welfare organization is calling for mandatory national standards.Pork production standards and labels are still on the back burner in Australia, for now. Meanwhile, the RSPCA has egg production in its gun sights. Chalk calls hen cages "legalized cruelty" and wants all hens raised out of cages.It's more than an animal cruelty issue, because consumers are paying more for eggs that are raised under so-called ethical standards. A consumer watchdog group charges that there are many more free range eggs on the market than could possibly be produced and consumers are paying more for them than for eggs produced in battery cages. Oops!! BP Choking on changes to hotdogs Brits promise more honest labelling
Al-Katib says Canada has Resources and Talent to Lead the World Wednesday, July 2, 2025 In a recent episode of Asia Pacific Conversations, Murad Al-Katib, CEO of AGT Foods and Ingredients, shared insights into the journey of Canadian agriculture in global markets. As the head of a Saskatchewan-based startup that has grown into a billion-dollar international food company,... Read this article online
Drought Support for Saskatchewan Includes Allowing Low Yield Crops as Livestock Feed Wednesday, July 2, 2025 The Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) is implementing urgent support for producers dealing with ongoing dry conditions. The federal and provincial agriculture ministers have announced changes that allow low-yielding crop acres to be salvaged for livestock feed through a doubled... Read this article online
Canadian Farmers Increase Wheat and Soybean Acres Wednesday, July 2, 2025 In 2025, Canadian farmers increased the planting of wheat, oats, soybeans, lentils, corn, and dry peas, while reducing the area seeded to canola and barley. The warm and dry spring conditions across much of Western Canada helped speed up seeding operations, with all Prairie provinces... Read this article online
Manitoba pork, canola producers hold steady amid heavy tariffs Wednesday, July 2, 2025 A slab of back bacon from Natural Raised Pork comes with a waitlist. Ian Smith points to tariffs. Since the United States placed levies on imports from Canada, Manitobans have increasingly been calling Smith about his farm near Argyle, some 40 kilometres northwest of... Read this article online
Crop and Pasture Health Rise in Alberta Wednesday, July 2, 2025 According to the AFSC and Alberta Government Crop Reporting Survey, Alberta's crop conditions improved significantly this week. Major crops are now rated 59 percent good to excellent, up 10 percent from the previous week. However, this is still below the five- and ten-year averages of 73 and... Read this article online