As we begin 2026 with new challenges, including slower economic growth, geopolitical uncertainties and rising trade barriers, Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) Economics team has released the top economic charts to monitor in 2026.

Their blog post titled , is available for publication. We just ask that you credit the source, FCC, Economics. The web link for written press can be: (see the blog of January 14, 2026).

These insights can also be used to supplement your print or broadcast agriculture and food coverage with attribution to FCC.

To better understand the key economic and financial factors that will impact farm operations, food and beverage processors, and agribusinesses in 2026, register for the , a virtual event on January 22 at .

Montreal, January 15, 2026 2026 – Bel Group Canada, a major player in food offering healthier dairy, fruit or plant-based portions, is proud to announce that its Babybel® manufacturing plant in Sorel-Tracy has now achieved zero waste to landfill. All residual materials generated at the plant have no longer been sent to landfill since December 1, 2025.

This achievement—an important milestone in the agri-food sector—illustrates Bel’s commitment to the circular economy and responsible residual materials management, while strengthening the plant’s positive impact within the local community.

“At Bel, our mission is to enable everyone to access healthier and more sustainable food through a responsible and profitable food growth model. We are proud of the tangible measures we have implemented to reach our zero waste to landfill objective across our Canadian operations,” said Cristine Laforest, CEO, Bel Group Canada. “This important milestone aligns with the Bel Charter to fight food waste, as well as our commitments to reduce our environmental footprint.”

A five-year structured approach based on three levers

This result is the culmination of a five-year approach based on three pillars: reduce, valorize and recycle residual materials:

1. Reduce at the source: the plant first focused on measurement, analysis and eliminating residual materials at the source, reducing in-process production losses from 17.5% in 2020 to 3.8% in 2025. In total, these efforts represent about 20 tonnes less residual materials per month.

2. Valorize to create value: Bel then worked to transform certain residual materials into valuable products. For example, Babybel® cheeses that are out of specification are reused as a raw material to produce The Laughing Cow®, representing about 30 tonnes of residual materials. Whey remaining from Babybel® production is also reused and destined for animal nutrition—about 31,000 tonnes in 2025.

3. Recycle locally, close to the plant: the remaining residual materials are sorted and then entrusted to processing specialists by category (metals, cardboard, plastics, compostables, etc.), located less than 100 km from the plant.

Once these steps have been maximized, the remaining fraction is now directed to incineration, generating renewable energy rather than going to landfill. This represents about 15 tonnes per month that are no longer sent to landfill.

“Since the plant was commissioned in 2020, we have worked continuously by integrating new processes and equipment to reach this important objective. We collaborated closely with our experts in France and our local partners to implement innovative solutions, and we are very proud,” added Christelle Maître, Plant Director. “Our goal is to continue these efforts, notably by pursuing valorization research and accelerating our work to reduce water consumption.”

Reducing waste across the value chain

In Canada, food waste remains a major issue. According to Second Harvest (2024 update), 46.5% of food produced is wasted, representing 21.18 million tonnes, a significant portion of which is still edible. In this context, Bel aims to contribute to practical solutions through initiatives such as its Zero Food Waste program—delivered in collaboration with its distributor and Food Banks Canada—which turns slightly damaged products into donations, its annual participation in the After the Bell program, and its support for Breakfast Club of Canada. Together, these commitments represent a value of more than $150,000, the equivalent of 531,700 meals for Food Banks Canada, and more than 500 children supported by Breakfast Club of Canada during the school year.

Detection Technology, a global leader in X-ray detector solutions, has appointed Michael Smith as Vice President, Sales Americas, effective 2 February 2026. He will report to Hannu Martola, President and CEO of Detection Technology, with responsibility for driving growth in the Americas.

Michael Smith brings extensive international sales leadership experience. Since 2020, he has served as Senior Sales Director at KPM Analytics and previously held sales director roles at AMETEK Spectro Scientific from 2016 to 2020. From 1996 to 2015, he worked in Shanghai, holding sales management positions at various companies and gaining broad experience across industrial segments.

“We are very pleased to welcome Michael to our team. He is an accomplished sales leader with extensive experience in industries similar to those of our customers. He has a solid track record of developing key accounts and built sales organizations in vision inspection and analytical instruments industries. His experience and entrepreneurial mindset support the achievement of our growth ambitions in the Americas, in line with our DT2030 strategy,” said Hannu Martola, President and CEO.

Detection Technology’s global sales and business responsibilities are divided so that Michael Smith, Vice President of Sales, Americas, will assume responsibility for the Americas. Arve Lukander, President EMEIA (Europe, Middle East, India and Africa), will lead the EMEIA region, and Chen Wu, President APAC (Asia-Pacific), will lead the APAC region. The composition of Detection Technology’s management group remains unchanged. The change has no impact on the company’s financial reporting.

TAUNTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE) --Harpak-ULMA today announced the North American release of the ULMA TFX thermoformer, a next‑generation smart platform engineered to help food, medical and consumer packaged goods producers achieve higher throughput, enhanced package quality, and stronger sustainability performance. The TFX boasts multiple performance-enhancing innovations designed to reduce cycle time, stabilize process variation, and support the use of recyclable packaging materials.

ULMA designed its new range of high-performance TFX thermoformers to tackle some of today’s most demanding food and medical packaging challenges — including production efficiency, sustainability, digitalization, and process repeatability. The TFX delivers synchronized high-speed performance, superior packaging quality, rapid error-proofed changeovers, intuitive operation, sustainable film, optimized materials usage, and smart, data-driven production management. It was engineered from the ground up to maximize efficiency, uptime, and environmental responsibility across modern packaging lines.

The TFX line leverages optimized motion coordination and a redesigned vacuum system that shortens evacuation time — enabling faster, more predictable cycles for high-volume applications that can accelerate vacuum performance by up to 20 percent. These improvements are especially significant for producers packaging standardized “Brick-Packs,” a format rapidly expanding across major retailers. Packaged meat bricks require precise forming, rapid evacuation, and repeatable sealing to maintain their rigid geometry and minimize purge — making cycle-time stability and vacuum efficiency critical drivers of throughput and package integrity.

The TFX also integrates ULMA’s advanced forming (Better Form X^TM) and sealing (Better Seal X^TM) technologies, making it capable of running thinner base films without sacrificing package strength or integrity. This is particularly valuable for meat-brick applications, which rely on deep, dimensionally consistent forming and robust seals to maintain shape. Running thinner, recyclable materials without compromising rigidity allows processors to reduce plastic consumption while maintaining the visual appeal and durability expected by retailers and club store shoppers. This capability supports processors seeking reductions in plastic consumption and improved sustainability metrics.

Other advanced capabilities include automated film alignment, zone-specific heating, and constant-atmosphere sealing controls — features designed to improve first-pass yield and reduce rework. In meat-brick production, even minor film wander, uneven heating, or seal variation can result in notable deformation or purge leakage. Automated alignment and precision heating help ensure every brick maintains its crisp, consistent profile — essential for stacking, case packing, and warehouse-club merchandising. On-board tools such as RFID format verification, and recipe-driven digital control accelerate changeovers while reducing operator error.

Centralized recipe control allows operators to auto-adjust settings based on production orders, while built-in monitoring tools track usage of film, electricity, air, and gas by shift or batch. At the end of each run, the system generates a detailed PDF report, giving manufacturers a comprehensive view of production performance. This enables producers to pinpoint waste, validate sustainability improvements, and support continuous improvement initiatives. For meat-brick processors running extremely high volumes with tight retail cost-to-produce pressures, such insights help quantify the financial benefits of precision forming, reduced vacuum times, and lower material use — giving operations teams clear visibility into the true cost of each packaged unit. These digital records also support documentation requirements common in medical manufacturing, providing traceable, repeatable production data that can be leveraged during process validation and audit. This unique combination of innovative technologies delivers a thermoforming platform engineered for a new era of packaging automation and performance — one that helps processors unlock hidden line capacity, enhance product quality, and achieve more sustainable operations.

For more information, https://www.harpak-ulma.com/equipment/tfx-thermoformer/ or call (508) 884-2500. Experience a live demonstration at one of Harpak-ULMA's Customer Experience Centers in Boston, Atlanta, or Costa Mesa, Calif. Call (508) 884-2500 to make arrangements.