Agriculture – Winnipeg Free Press

Canada Packers reports Q4 results as an independent after spin off from Maple Leaf

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Updated: 10:13 AM CST

Canada Packers Inc. chief executive Dennis Organ said the pork producer is focused on building durability, as it reported its first full quarter since it was spun off from Maple Leaf Foods Inc. last year.

Organ told a conference call Wednesday to discuss the company's latest results that it is "still squarely in chapter one," focused on building financial stability. However, he said the company remains open to taking on opportunities — such as mergers and acquisitions.

When Canada Packers moves to its next stage, Organ said the investments will be the kind that "are easy to explain to investors why it makes sense."

He said it will focus on cost synergies that are easy to execute, giving an example of pig ears sold to small shops that smoke and sell them as pet treats.

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Group calls on Health Canada to make labels mandatory for gene-edited pork

Emily Baron Cadloff, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Preview

Group calls on Health Canada to make labels mandatory for gene-edited pork

Emily Baron Cadloff, The Canadian Press 6 minute read Sunday, Mar. 1, 2026

HALIFAX - An advocacy group of farmers and environmental organizations wants Health Canada to implement mandatory labelling on pork from gene-edited pigs.

Earlier this year, the federal agency approved the sale of gene-edited pigs as food. The pigs are resistant to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus, called PRRSV-resistant pigs.

"It is expected that by addressing PRRSV in pigs, farmers can prevent severe illness and death in their herds, reduce the need for antibiotics, and improve animal welfare," Health Canada said in an email to The Canadian Press.

In January, Health Canada released a statement saying that the pigs do not “pose a greater risk to human health than pigs currently available,” and added that there are “no differences in the nutritional value of the PRRSV-resistant pigs compared to other pigs.”

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Sunday, Mar. 1, 2026

Pork chops are on display at a Sam's Club, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Bentonville, Ark. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Drone application big step in crop protection

Laura Rance 4 minute read Preview

Drone application big step in crop protection

Laura Rance 4 minute read Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026

It’s been a long time coming, but Health Canada is finally moving forward with a plan that would allow farmers to spray weeds using drones.

The department that oversees Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency has launched a 30-day public consultation process on a proposal to regulate drone applications of pesticides similarly to manned aircraft applications.

The change, if approved, would allow manufacturers whose products are already approved for application by manned aircraft to add application by drones to their product labels without going through the costly and time-consuming process of applying for a label change.

Currently, there are no agricultural pesticide products registered for drone application largely because the current regulations require every product to go through a separate registration process providing supporting data.

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Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026

TIM SMITH / BRANDON SUN FILES
An agricultural drone on display at Manitoba Ag Days 2026 in Brandon in January.

Fire at an Ohio farm complex kills about 6,000 hogs and smoke is visible for miles

Patrick Aftoora-orsagos, Kathy Mccormack And Leah Willingham, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Fire at an Ohio farm complex kills about 6,000 hogs and smoke is visible for miles

Patrick Aftoora-orsagos, Kathy Mccormack And Leah Willingham, The Associated Press 3 minute read Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

LONDON, Ohio (AP) — A fire at an Ohio hog farm complex killed about 6,000 pigs and unleashed a large plume of smoke that could be seen for miles across the rural landscape, an official said.

Multiple fire departments responded amid sustained winds of about 20 mph (32 kph) and gusts reaching up to 35 mph (56 kph), which accelerated the fire’s spread, and because water supplies in the area were limited, extensive water shuttle operations were needed. Two of five large agricultural buildings were “heavily involved in fire,” and it took five hours to bring it under control, Chief Brian Bennington of the Central Townships Joint Fire District said.

About 1,500 hogs survived and were taken elsewhere, he said. No people were hurt. Bennington said the hog waste stored below the buildings was contained, with no concern for impacts on surrounding groundwater.

An Associated Press reporter visited Fine Oak Farms on Thursday, a day after the fire. A little bit of smoke could still be seen rising from the burned down area. A darkened structure was partially collapsed, and charred debris was piled beside several darkened metal silos where flames had ripped through. But the impact appeared concentrated in one area of the farm complex, with other nearby buildings left largely intact.

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Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026

In this grab from video made available by WSYX, smoke rises from a fire at an Ohio hog farm complex, in Madison County, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (WSYX via AP)

Cyprus plans mass livestock vaccination to halt spread of foot-and-mouth disease

Menelaos Hadjicostis, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Cyprus plans mass livestock vaccination to halt spread of foot-and-mouth disease

Menelaos Hadjicostis, The Associated Press 3 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus said Wednesday it plans to vaccinate thousands of goats, sheep, hogs and cows in an effort to contain an outbreak of a foot-and-mouth disease that threatens exports of halloumi cheese and will result in the culling of at least 13,000 animals.

Agriculture and Environment Minister Maria Panayiotou said European Union experts are in the country to oversee an initial round of vaccinations at livestock farms inside a three-kilometer (1.9 mile) radius from the outbreak’s epicenter.

So far, 11 farms have been affected by the outbreak in four communities close to the country’s southern coastline. Crews have been deployed to spray disinfectant on vehicles entering the exclusion zone to avoid any possible transfer of the highly-contagious viral disease that induces fever and blister-like sores in the mouth, drastically reduces milk production and leaves animals weakened.

“Strictly obeying biosecurity measures is absolutely essential as they are a key tool to containing the virus,” Panayiotou told a news conference, adding that private veterinarians have been recruited to help state authorities administer the vaccine.

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Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026

An employee sprays a car inside a blocked section of a livestock zone containing thousands of goats, sheep, and cows following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the Kelia area near Larnaca, Cyprus, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Herbicide drama a nightmare for farmers, investors and government

Laura Rance 4 minute read Preview

Herbicide drama a nightmare for farmers, investors and government

Laura Rance 4 minute read Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026

Glyphosate, arguably farmers’ favourite herbicide and the central character in a high-stakes drama now spanning decades, was back in the news this week.

Just as Bayer rolled out a new plan to settle thousands of lawsuits claiming the active ingredient in Roundup causes cancer, U.S. President Donald Trump was declaring the product critical to the nation’s food security.

These are just the latest twists in a plotline that has embroiled regulatory agencies in controversy, and which has now jumped out of courtrooms and investor calls to the highest political level.

Bayer shares jumped and then slumped midweek as the market debated whether the company’s proposed US$7.25-billion settlement plan would end the legal nightmare it inherited with its purchase of Monsanto in 2018. It has reportedly already paid out more than $10 billion to settle claims glyphosate exposure is connected to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

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Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026

Just as Bayer rolled out a new plan to settle once and for all thousands of lawsuits claiming the active ingredient in Roundup causes cancer, U.S. President Donald Trump was declaring the product critical to the nation’s food security. (Haven Daley / The Associated Press files)

Nutrien sees potash demand growing again this year after record harvest

Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Nutrien sees potash demand growing again this year after record harvest

Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

Nutrien Ltd. is expecting strong fundamentals for agricultural commodities to help its business this year.

Mark Thompson, Nutrien's chief financial officer, said demand for potash is expected to grow in 2026 for the fourth consecutive year.

"We've seen good engagement across all major markets, with most benchmark prices approximately 20 per cent higher compared to 12 months ago. We anticipate relatively tight fundamentals through 2026, as trend line demand growth is testing existing global operating and supply chain capabilities," he said on the company's fourth-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

Nutrien said it expects potash sales volumes to come in between 14.1 million tonnes and 14.8 million tonnes this year.

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Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026

A potash surplus pile at the Mosaic potash mine in Esterhazy, Sask. on Wednesday, May 3, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

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Food-culture extremes reverberate back to farm

Laura Rance 4 minute read Preview

Food-culture extremes reverberate back to farm

Laura Rance 4 minute read Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026

The absurdity of our civilization’s extreme relationship with food hit me like a runaway snowboard the other night while watching the Ozempic Olympics in between commercials advertising pizza and french fries.

The relentless marketing, alternately promoting weight-loss support and foods that lean towards making us fat, isn’t aimed at the elite winter athletes strutting their stuff on the world stage in Italy. It’s a safe bet they didn’t achieve the peak of human fitness on a diet of pizza and french fries. It’s equally doubtful they require injections of the GLP-1 class of drugs to help manage their weight.

These athletes deserve our admiration and respect, but to be fair to the rest of us, most working stiffs don’t have the time, drive or resources to devote full-time to the pursuit of extreme fitness.

No, those commercials are aimed at the couch potatoes back home, subjecting us to both temptation and a shortcut to redemption as we bear witness to these feats of human endurance.

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Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026

Food-culture extremes reverberate back to farm

Agriculture equipment dealer AgWest opens new Brandon-area location

Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Preview

Agriculture equipment dealer AgWest opens new Brandon-area location

Abiola Odutola 3 minute read Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026

BRANDON — AgWest Ltd. has opened the doors of its new Brandon-area location, citing the Westman city’s role as a central agricultural hub and a growing customer base.

The Canadian ag equipment dealer’s new facility, located at 1 Rusty Way in the Rural Municipality of Cornwallis, just south of the Trans-Canada Highway, brings parts, service and operations together in a purpose-built space.

It was designed to improve efficiency and reduce downtime for producers during critical seasons, such as seeding and harvest, chief executive officer Neil Douglas said in an email.

“Brandon has long been a key hub for agriculture in western Manitoba and our customer base in the Westman region has continued to grow,” Douglas said. “The timing was driven by the need to better support producers with faster service turnaround, improved parts availability and a facility that reflects how modern farm equipment is serviced today.”

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Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026

AgWest Brandon branch manager Derek Papineau (right) stands in front of the new facility with his assistant, Mike Noto. (Abiola Odutola / The Brandon Sun files)

Agriculture adds $900 million to N.S. economy but number of farms has fallen: study

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Agriculture adds $900 million to N.S. economy but number of farms has fallen: study

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026

HALIFAX - A new study says that while agriculture is a major driver of Nova Scotia’s economy, the number of farms in the province has fallen sharply over the years.

The Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture says farms contribute more than $900 million to the provincial GDP with dairy, eggs and berries among the top food items produced.

The study also says about 50,000 people in the province earn at least part of their income from farming.

However, the federation says the number of farms and the total amount of farmland have decreased over the last two decades.

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Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026

A farmer works a field in Churchville, N.S. on Monday, May 9, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Boar’s Head reopens Virginia deli meat plant tied to deadly listeria outbreak

Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Boar’s Head reopens Virginia deli meat plant tied to deadly listeria outbreak

Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press 4 minute read Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026

The Boar’s Head deli meat plant tied to a deadly food-poisoning outbreak in 2024 is back in business, company officials said.

The Jarratt, Virginia, site resumed limited operations on Monday, nearly 17 months after it was shut down following the listeria outbreak that killed 10 people and sickened dozens.

Boar's Head, a 120-year-old company based in Sarasota, Florida, permanently stopped making liverwurst and recalled 7 million pounds (more than 3 million kilograms) of deli products in the wake of the illnesses.

But Natalie Dyenson, the company's chief food safety officer, told The Associated Press that the facility has been completely revamped and tested to ensure no contamination remains.

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Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026

FILE - An aerial view of the Boar's Head processing plant, Aug. 29, 2024, in Jarratt, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Alberta, Saskatchewan urge Ottawa to approve gopher poison following rejection

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Alberta, Saskatchewan urge Ottawa to approve gopher poison following rejection

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026

REGINA - The Alberta and Saskatchewan governments are pushing Ottawa to lift a ban on an effective rodent poison as farmers warn of an increase in damaged crops and injuries to livestock.

The provinces said the Pest Management Regulatory Agency had rejected their proposal to allow the emergency use of two per cent liquid strychnine to control swelling populations of Richardson's ground squirrels, commonly known as gophers.

The agency had banned strychnine two years ago, arguing that it poses risks to other wildlife species that consume poisoned carcasses.

Don Connick, who farms in southwestern Saskatchewan, said he remembers seeing plenty of gopher mounds last summer protruding from his neighbour's cropland.

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Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026

Three Richardson's ground squirrels appear Monday, July 14, 2025, in a vacant lot near apartment homes in Minot, N.D. (AP Photo/Jack Dura)

CPKC breaks monthly Canadian grain shipping records amid higher grain revenues

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

CPKC breaks monthly Canadian grain shipping records amid higher grain revenues

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Monday, Feb. 2, 2026

CALGARY - Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. says it surpassed January monthly records for shipping Canadian grain by both tonnage and carload.

The Calgary-based company says it moved 2.4 million tonnes of grain last month, beating the previous record set in January of 2023.

CPKC says the number of carloads came in at 24,688 last month, also besting the previous January 2023 record.

Jonathan Wahbam, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at CPKC, says the railway achieved the records by working with grain customers and supply chain collaborators.

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Monday, Feb. 2, 2026

A CPKC locomotive is seen on a train at the Canadian Pacific and Kansas City train yard in Mexico City, Friday Sept. 19, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Agricultural innovation takes hit in federal cuts

Laura Rance 4 minute read Preview

Agricultural innovation takes hit in federal cuts

Laura Rance 4 minute read Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026

Everyone knew cuts to federal programs and jobs were coming.

Something must give if elected officials are to make good on promises to address what many characterized as Canada’s bloated bureaucracy and ballooning deficits, while boosting its military defence systems and protecting the economy from a neighbour gone rogue.

And while the Canadian effort to shrink the cost of governing is a little less dramatic than that in the U.S. a year ago, the application of across-the-board cuts has been anything but surgical.

Farmers and unions, who rarely agree on anything, are united in opposition to news Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is closing three research facilities and four research farms, and cutting around 650 positions. The cuts include a host of programs, including those focused on organic farming, regenerative agriculture and climate adaptation.

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Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026

JUSTIN TANG / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES
A person passes sunflowers growing at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, site of Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada’s headquarters.

Wagon-dragging B.C. islanders face weeks without vehicle bridge, knocked askew by tug

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Wagon-dragging B.C. islanders face weeks without vehicle bridge, knocked askew by tug

Ashley Joannou, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

DELTA - When Abby Collier heard that the only bridge connecting Westham Island to Delta and the Metro Vancouver mainland had been damaged by a boat strike last week, she assumed it would be closed for a few days.

After all, it had happened before and the small island community of mostly farmers where she's lived for 15 years had always managed.

Then, days later, the community of about 130 households learned they would also be under a boil water advisory after a leak was discovered in the water main under the bridge.

"I would say initially we weren't concerned, and then we were very concerned," Collier said.

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Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

People walk across the Westham Island Bridge, which is closed to vehicle traffic after the span was hit by a tugboat last week, in Delta, B.C., on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. A bridge that provides the only road access to a Metro Vancouver island community has suffered more significant damage than originally thought and will take weeks for a permanent fix to be completed. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Months after B.C. ostrich cull, why does protest movement persist?

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press 11 minute read Preview

Months after B.C. ostrich cull, why does protest movement persist?

Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press 11 minute read Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

Melody Leinweber's latest tattoo is a stylized portrait of an ostrich with a colourful beak, pink and turquoise stars around its head and a twinkle in its eyes.

The mother of four from West Kelowna, B.C., said the inspiration was twofold — her daughter had wanted an ostrich for Christmas, and Leinweber never wanted to forget the 314 ostriches culled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency last November after an outbreak of avian influenza on a British Columbia farm.

"I still haven't been able to tell my kids that the ostriches aren't here anymore," she said.

Leinweber is not alone in mourning the flock at Universal Ostrich Farms, shot by marksmen on a night of cold, drenching rain.

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Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026

March 4, 2026

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