Chef The Pig Given Three Months To Leave Town Thursday, December 5, 2013 Mayor Hazel McCallion wants Chef, a pot-bellied pig who's been living in Mississauga since August, out of her city. However, in an October council meeting she reluctantly agreed to a three-month reprieve. The Toronto Star reports that police noticed Chef when they responded to a medical emergency at Manfred Vaegler's residence. The pig belongs to Vaegler's friend and was given his name "because all he thinks about is food." Vaegler says Chef is "not much different than a dog" and the neighbours are fond of him. McCallion has less love, telling councillors that "a pig should be on a farm, not in an urban setting." Mississauga's animal control bylaw prohibits keeping farm animals in residential dwellings, but lately there have been petitions to allow for "urban farming" of chickens and other animals. Better Farming is currently preparing a report on this issue. BF Ontario's Aquaculture Industry Comes of Age Fur Sales Have Soared Over The Past Five Years
A new front in the repair access debate Friday, March 13, 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
Senators examine Canada’s food system firsthand during southwestern Ontario fact finding mission Thursday, March 12, 2026 A delegation of Canadian senators conducted a full day fact finding mission on Friday, March 6, 2026, visiting several major food system organizations and research facilities across Southwestern Ontario. The tour supported the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry’s ongoing... Read this article online
Middle East conflict pushes fertilizer costs higher, forcing Ontario growers to rethink corn acres Wednesday, March 11, 2026 Ontario farmers are bracing for a turbulent spring as fertilizer and fuel prices surge in response to the escalating conflict involving Iran, a development that analysts say could reshape planting decisions across North America. The spike in nitrogen costs—the most critical and... 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