Cargill spending $12 million in London

Cargill Protein is investing $22 million to install a controlled atmospheric stunning system at its chicken processing plant at London.  

Cargill said the investment reflects its efforts to address customer and consumer demand for improved animal welfare in meat production. 

This spring the new system will replace electric stunning.

The plant, which has 830 employees, processes products for nation-wide distribution.

It was once owned by Cuddy Foods which supplied McDonald’s Restaurants across Canada.

Directory created for Ontario organic industry

The Organic Council of Ontario (OCO) has produced an Ontario Organic Directory that lists organic producers, processors, and related businesses.

The council says it “aims to strengthen links in the value chain, and make it easier for new and growing businesses to create business connections.”

All certified producers are automatically added to the directory and there is provision for non-certified producers to be listed.

“We worked closely with certifying bodies in Ontario to make sure that each member’s organic status is clearly indicated in each listing,” says Carolyn Young,executive director of OCO.

“We hope that over time, the directory will become the go-to place to connect with any business operating within the organic sphere.” 

The council recently conducted a survey and produced a report that Young said found “often people don’t know where to go to find what they need to make their business successful.

‘We’re hoping that the directory will help to change that.”

Foot and mouth disease hits South Korea again

Foot and mouth disease has broken out on a 900-hog operation in South Korea.

It’s the first outbreak in more than a  year, but government officials say they are not worried about an epidemic because there has been widespread vaccination of livestock.

The case was reported on Monday at a farm in Gimpo, about 30 km  northwest of Seoul, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said.

                           

Benjamins remains as chicken board chairman

Ed Benjamins has been re-elected chairman of the ChickenFarmers of Ontario marketing board.

Ed Benjamins

The first and second vice-chairmen are Murray Opsteen and Mark Hermann.

Tim Klompmaker remains the Ontario board director on the national agency, Chicken Farmers of Canada.

The other Ontario directors are Adrian Rehorst, Rick Kaptein, Brian Lewis, Tom Bleischag and Jordan Fois.

Ontario cautious on chicken outlook

The national chicken agency is calling for production increases of five per cent from July 8 to Sept. 1 and three per cent from Sept. 2 to Oct. 27.

The allocations were set at a recent meeting during which the Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing board said that increases of 3.5 and three per cent are all that’s required.

The next two quota period allocations will be set during an agency meeting July 23.

The Ontario marketing board said on its website this week that it “examined both the supply and demand side of the chicken market and assessed risks to market stability.

“Quantitative and qualitative analysis as well as consultations with industry partners and experts have informed our recommendation which has been framed on a public policy of “balanced best interest".

Under the new market-sharing agreement, Ontario’s increases for quota period A-151 (July to Sept) and A-152 (Sept. and Oct.) will be 5.7 and 3.6 per cent.

MacAulay says grain backlog “unfortunate”

Prairie farmers expecting help from the government to make railways live up to their obligations to deliver grain to export terminals got only a comment that it’s an unfortunate situation.

Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said Monday in Calgary that he has no immediate solution for getting Canadian grain moving again

"It's been an ongoing and unfortunate issue," MacAulay said.

"I've been in contact with the railways a number of times. They are in contact with me quite regularly. Is everything fixed? No."

The railways say the harvest was large and winter weather was difficult.

These guys are unconscionable. They join the ranks of the American outfit that has failed in its obligation to fix the rail line to Churchill, so that grain-export destination has been idle all winter long.

Maybe the politicians need to threaten severe fines, including garnisheeing some of the bloated incomes of chief executive officers, to get action.