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The Canadian Corrugated & Containerboard Association announces the appointment of Serge Desgagnés as the new Executive Director. Serge has a long-standing history with the CCCA, having served as a board member for many years, representing Kruger Packaging L.P.

Serge brings considerable insight to the sector through his distinguished career spanning 45 years. The majority of his career was built at Kruger in varying roles. Most recently, he was Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at Kruger. He has a degree in Marketing and Sales from The University of Montreal.

Serge served for many years on the boards of the CCCA, Paper & Paperboard Packaging Environmental Council (PPEC) and the International Corrugated Case Association (ICCA). His national and international industry experience will bring a strong knowledge and insight to the association.

The Canadian Corrugated and Containerboard Association (CCCA) is the national voice of the corrugated industry. CCCA members include containerboard mills, corrugator plants, and related organizations from coast-to-coast who turn to CCCA for value-add support, resources, and education. CCCA is committed to supporting and advancing the industry and showcasing the reliable, recyclable, and innovative benefits of corrugated packaging to all Canadians. For more information, visit www.cccabox.org.

 
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Saint-Hyacinthe, February 11, 2025 – Nutri Group, one of Canada’s leading egg graders and processors, is announcing a strategic investment to solidify its presence in Saint-Hyacinthe. The company has just acquired, from Saint-Hyacinthe Technopole, the industrial building located at 6525 Picard Street, next to its current facilities, in the Olivier-Chalifoux industrial park.

The approximately 83,150-square-foot building will be used to carry out a large part of the development activities that will enable Nutri Group to strengthen its position as a producer of simple and healthy foods for the Québec and Canadian markets.

“Our goal is to become the company with the most beloved egg offering by Canadian consumers, recognized for its distinctive products, the performance of its operations and its cutting-edge technology,” said Nutri Group's CEO Sébastien Léveillé. “We are confident that this acquisition will contribute to our growth and will enable the next generation of our farmer-owners to grow their business with Nutri.”

“We are very pleased with the agreement reached with Nutri Group for the sale of this real estate asset. This transaction will not only lead to a major manufacturing investment, it also supports the growth of agri-food development in our area, more specifically on a site near the City of Agri-Food Innovation,” said Karine Guilbault, general manager of Saint-Hyacinthe Technopole.

Saint-Hyacinthe Technopole purchased the building when it became vacant in 2019. Given its surface area and strategic location along Highway 20, Technopole wanted to ensure it would be used in a way that contributed to the region’s economy. It had only been partially occupied by various industrial tenants since its acquisition by the organization.

Ms. Guilbault added, “We evaluated several purchase offers and looked at multiple requalification scenarios for this site over the last few years. However, with our board of directors’ support, we wanted to wait for a project in line with the strategic vision we had for this building. The Nutri Group project met our criteria.”

 
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Regina, Saskatchewan, February 13, 2025 – The Do More Agriculture Foundation is pleased to open the 2025 Community Fund for rural mental health education. Proudly presented by Farm Credit Canada (FCC), the Community Fund empowers rural communities across Canada to create space for mental health conversations for learning, hope and change. When more people understand mental health, communities build better health outcomes for everyone.

Applications for the Community Fund are open until March 2, 5:00 p.m. CST.

“FCC’s steadfast and bold commitment to support rural community action for mental health is inspiring,” stated Dr. Merle Massie (PhD), Executive Director of The Do More Agriculture Foundation.

“Communities have told us, again and again, what happens at these events. They’ll say: ‘My community is leaving with new skills and a better understanding of how to support our peers. I’m proud to see this kind of change in our community.’ When communities tell us that it’s helping, we just want to do more,” said Massie.

“Mental health supports are a critical component in building strong and resilient rural communities. That’s why FCC is proud to be a longstanding partner of the Do More Agriculture Foundation and the Community Fund”, said Justine Hendricks, FCC President and CEO. “Providing tools, education, and support that foster mental health and resilience go a long way in a farm’s success, and in the vitality of rural communities. This partnership underscores FCC’s commitment to the mental health of Canadian farm families.”

The Do More Agriculture Foundation is excited by FCC’s commitment to increase its support which will allow more communities to champion mental health learning workshops than ever before. Last year, 140 communities applied for funding, showcasing a strong need across Canada for more mental health learning at the community level.

As the program grows, there is learning, including for Do More Ag. “Communities say that shame and fear can stop people from signing up for workshops. We are building additional resources for community champions, to help them touch and welcome a wide variety of people,” said Massie.

While communities are a top priority, The Do More Agriculture Foundation thinks about ‘community’ broadly. It welcomes champions from agriculture associations, small industries tied to agriculture, financial and accounting businesses, pharmacies and hardware stores, faith communities, rural governments and health care businesses and any other community-based champion to lead these events.

“We are so proud of Canadian agricultural communities. The number of communities who have applied for and hosted workshops with us has grown year over year, showcasing a growing appetite for communities to actively find ways to improve mental health,” Massie added.

Program offerings include the popular Talk Ask Listen and In the Know sessions, SafeTALK suicide support workshops, and intensive Mental Health First Aid training. A peer-to-peer grief support group will continue. The Field of Mind men’s mental health support sessions will expand in 2025. Specialized AgCulture courses will continue to provide mental health professionals with an in-depth understanding of the specific challenges unique to the agricultural sector.

The fund welcomes applications from across Canada. For further details and to submit applications, please visit The Do More Agriculture Foundation at www.domore.ag/community-fund.

 
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Regina, Saskatchewan, February 11, 2025 – Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is pleased to announce that Drive Away Hunger partners have more than doubled their contributions from last year and donated 514 million meals in 2024.

Justine Hendricks, FCC president and CEO, announced the results at the Future of Food conference in Ottawa.

“This year’s amazing results are a testament to the hard work and unwavering dedication of Drive Away Hunger partners across the agriculture and food industry in Canada,” said Justine Hendricks, FCC president and CEO. “The industry has united through Drive Away Hunger, and the sheer number of meals donated highlights the considerable impact of this collective effort.”

The HungerCount 2024 report from Food Banks Canada revealed over two million visits to food banks nationwide in March last year. It’s FCC’s goal to encourage more collaboration and innovation to get food to those who need it and address important issues like food waste.

“Drive Away Hunger demonstrates the power of industry collaboration, connecting nutritious food to those in our communities who are in need,” said Hendricks. “By rallying together, giving generously and looking for new solutions, we are creating change. We continue to be motivated by our goal of eliminating food insecurity in Canada.”

Drive Away Hunger partners donate food and dollars to charitable food security agencies in communities across Canada, connecting nutritious food to those in need and redirecting food surpluses that would otherwise go to waste.

 
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Westfalia Fruit, a global leader in the avocado industry is committed to utilizing all parts of the avocado across the supply chain. Avocados imported for retail, food service, and wholesale customers are carefully inspected. Any unsuitable avocados are processed at Westfalia’s facility into products like avocado pulp, smashed avocado, guacamole, and more. The avocado skins and seeds from the process, which were previously typically used in low-value applications such as anaerobic digesters, are now finding new, innovative, higher value alternative uses.

Having partnered with Efficiency Technologies, the valorisation of the entire byproduct channel of avocado skins and stones is assessed to optimise use, with the most recent development being an innovative technology extracting a natural, sustainable dye from avocado stones, with SAGES London. This marks a significant advancement in total crop utilization; the process extracts perseorangin (a rare and sought-after natural pigment) from avocado stones collected at Westfalia's UK facility. The pigment offers eight distinct shades ranging from light yellow to rich reddish-brown, creating new opportunities for sustainable colouring solutions across multiple industries. The specialized extraction method isolates perseorangin, which constitutes approximately 3% of the avocado stone, and processes it into a dried powder form, offering extended shelf life.

"This breakthrough represents a significant step in our journey toward our total crop use strategy," says Andrew Mitchell, Head of Group Innovation at Westfalia Fruit. "By transforming what was once considered byproduct into a valuable resource, we're creating sustainable solutions that benefit multiple industries. The ability to produce eight distinct natural shades while maintaining our commitment to use the entire fruit demonstrates the potential of innovative thinking in sustainable agriculture."

Expanding technology across industries

Besides the dye extraction, remaining materials from the avocado skins and stones are also processed into additional valuable products – for example, starches are directed to paper manufacture as a precursor to packaging production, whilst ground materials find applications in cosmetics as natural exfoliants, as alternatives to micro-plastics

The natural dye extraction process represents a significant advancement in sustainable practices, particularly as industries increasingly seek alternatives to synthetic dyes. The powder format ensures stability and ease of use across various applications, while the range of the eight distinct natural shades offers versatility for different product requirements. This innovation comes at a time when consumer demand for natural, sustainable products continues to rise across fashion, beauty and packaging sectors.

The commercial potential and versatility of the natural dye have already been demonstrated through several high-profile applications. The pigment's successful showcase at London Fashion Week highlighted its viability in sustainable fashion, while ongoing collaborations with industry leaders in cosmetics and packaging demonstrate its cross-sector appeal.

Away from the UK, the process shows scalability as plans are underway to understand how the technology could be expanded to additional Westfalia facilities in Europe, where more avocado byproduct can be processed using the same techniques, clearly this same application could also be expanded to Westfalia’s global operations.

The company's integrated operations ensure efficient collection and processing of avocado stones and skins from multiple production sites, which will help to maximize the sustainable impact of the initiative and builds upon Westfalia's commitment to sustainability and circular economy principles.

 

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