Another day and another recall of a product containing pistachios contaminated with salmonella food-poisoning bacteria.
Public Health Canada reports that 16 have needed hospital treatment.
It has counted 105 people sickened, 27 of them in Ontario.
The latest recall is Handfuel brand raspberry pistachio clusters sold in Ontario.
Beyond Meat is not bankrupt, but is shuffling its debts.
The company, once the darling of the plant protein craze, has suffered a fate similar to all its competitors – a decline in sales resulting in losses.
In the case of Beyond Meat, sales have declined by 15 per cent over the first half of this year compared to last year, and last year was a lot poorer than the year before.
Beyond Meat has borrowed $1.1 billion at zero per cent interest in convertible notes, but that all comes due within the next 18 months.
It has offered to swap those convertible notes into common shares and $202.5 million in loans at seven per cent interest.
The issuance of that many common shares will increase the outstanding total to four times as many. That would dilute the value of common shares already held by investors.
Maple Leaf Foods also plunged into the plant protein business and has taken significant write-downs on those investments.
Although sales declined by more than nine per cent last year, in February it merged its meats and plant proteins divisions after the plant protein business achieved break-even.
The company invested heavily to buy Lightlife and Field Roast brands, bought a large factory in Indianapolis, Indiana, then built one of the largest plant protein factories (230,000 square feet) at Shelbyville, Indiana that cost $230 million, but as early at March, 2020, was running into headwinds as sales increased by only half as much as then-president Michael McCain predicted.
The United States Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have announced a joint probe into the sharp rise in farm input costs.
Under a new memorandum of understanding, the justice department’s antitrust division will coordinate with the agriculture department to review competitive conditions in the fertilizers, seeds, machinery, fuel, feed, and other essential sectors..
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins described the effort as a way to protect farmers and ranchers from the volatility and financial strain created by input inflation. Lawmakers from both parties have echoed concern that market consolidation and foreign reliance may be contributing to higher costs.
Depending on the findings and industry responses, the probe is likely to have ripple effects into the Canadian market where U.S. suppliers hold significant market share.
Dairy Farmers of America said it broke no laws, yet it joined with Select Milk Producers to pay $34.4 million to settle price-fixing lawsuit brought by farmers.
They claim that between 2014 and 2018 the two co-operatives worked together to pay farmers less money for their milk.
One part of the lawsuit claims they kept some milk out of pooled milk supplies so they could pay some farmers less money.
Tyson Foods Inc. agreed to pay $85 million to settle claims in a pork price-fixing lawsuit brought by consumer indirect purchasers.
The lawsuit was brought by three groups of clients - direct purchasers, consumer indirect purchasers, and commercial indirect purchasers .
Earlier this year, the court dismissed Hormel Foods Corp. from the case but ruled that claims against Tyson, JBS USA, Seaboard Foods, Smithfield Foods, Clemens Food Group and Triumph Foods could proceed.
Customers argued the companies relied on Agri Stats reports to coordinate production cuts and share sensitive pricing information, in violation of federal and state antitrust laws, consumer protection statutes and the Packers and Stockyards Act.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has banned the importation of raw milk cheeses from France, Italy and Switzerland in an effort to prevent an outbreak of lumpy skin disease in cattle.
It does not infect people, but does sicken cattle with fevers and reduced milk production.
France has been vaccinating cattle since June 15.
The CFIA website reports that 38 countries have not been declared free of the disase, including the United States, Mexico and England.
Dairy imports from those countries must be pasteurized.
CLAAS combines made for the Canadian market are going to be assembled in Germany instead of Omaha, Neb.
The company said it is making the shift because of tariff uncertainty.
Its prime Canadian market is the Prairies, although it does sell some in Ontario and east.
The plant at Omaha will continue production for the U.S. market.
Market watchers say it’s not about current tariffs, but what might happen in negotiations when the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) free trade agreement is renegotiated. That is scheduled for next year.
Some said CLAAS might only the first of many who will move production for Canadian customers out of the U.S.
Kendra Keels, industry development director for Veal Farmers of Ontario, has won the Carl Block award for life-long leadership from Animal Health Canada.
“Kendra Keels has dedicated her career to improving animal health and welfare in the Ontario and Canadian veal sectors,” said Jennifer Haley, executive director for Veal Farmers of Ontario.
“Her work has not only advanced the veal and dairy calf industries but has also contributed significantly to Canada’s overall approach to animal health and welfare.”
The leadership in collaboration award was given to Jackie Wepruk of Alberta, division director of the National Farm Animal Care Council, for her two decades of exceptional leadership in uniting Canada’s diverse animal health and welfare community.
“Jackie’s ability to bridge industry needs, public expectations, and science has strengthened Canada’s animal welfare standards and public trust in agriculture,” said Dr. Tracy Fisher, president of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.
“Her work has made Canada a global model for collaborative farm animal welfare governance and continues to advance Animal Health Canada’s mission.”
Karl Martinson of British Columbia won the receives Emerging Leadership Award.
He has worked on the crises of outbreaks of highly-pathogenic avian influenza in his role as a senior emergency planning analyst in the province’s agriculture department.
This year he became the inaugural coordinator of the Avian Influenza Prevention Partnership, a provincial–federal–industry working group on response readiness and prevention.
He also leads the development of planning tools to help livestock owners prepare for outbreaks and natural disasters, reflecting a systems-level approach that integrates animal welfare, public trust, and sector resilience.
Dr. Karen Schwean-Lardner, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, won the Farm Animal Welfare Leadership Award.
The council said she is a globally respected scientist and educator with her research transforming poultry welfare in Canada and worldwide.
Grain Farmers of Ontario has persuaded Cereals Canada to include Ontario wheats in its annual evaluation of quality.
Its evaluation reports are used by both domestic and export customers.
Four Eastern wheat classes will be included in this year’s report.
Cereals Canada has been analyzing western wheat quality for over 50 years. The Winnipeg-based organization said in the release the expanded program builds on its “established reputation as the globally recognized independent expert in Canadian grain quality, processing quality, and milling technology.”
Cereals Canada this year’s Harvest Assessment Report will be issued Nov. 18 and will be posted on its website at cerealscanada.ca.
The report will provide detailed information on milling performance, functionality, and end-use applications.
Composite sample assessments of Canada Eastern Hard Red Winter (CEHRW), Canada Eastern Red Spring (CERS), Canada Eastern Soft White Winter (CESWW), and Canada Western Red Winter (CWRW) will also be available for customers upon request, Cereals Canada said.
Grain Farmers of Ontario said it also continues to work with SGS Canada on real-time wheat grain grading analysis, with results posted on gfo.ca throughout harvest.
Recalls of products containing salmonella-contaminated pistachios continue to increase as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and public health officials continue to look for problems.
The latest recalls are 13 products sold online from Syriana Sweets in Ottawa.
There have been 25 recalls issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency since July 24.
Canada could move $12 billion worth of food and beverage exports to countries other than the United States, said a new report from Farm Credit Canada.
“Diversifying food and beverage exports beyond the U.S. will not only strengthen producers’ resilience but also benefit Canadian consumers and the broader economy,” wrote FCC president Justine Hendricks in a news release.
More than 75 per cent of Canadian exports went to the U.S. in 2023 and 65 per cent of food and beverage imports came from the U.S.
The U.S. also accounted for 78 per cent of primary agricultural imports.
“This reliance leaves Canadian ag and food producers vulnerable to unpredictable trade dynamics,” said the FCC.
“The U.S. economy will always remain a key market for Canadian exports, but the evolving trade landscape underscores the need to diversify.”
FCC recommended strengthening interprovincial trade by redirecting $2.6 billion in exports from the U.S. to meet domestic needs.
It also said more should be done to maximize benefits from Canada’s existing trade agreements with 51 countries.
And it called for new partnership deals with countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
It said there are opportunities to diversify exports in categories such as prepared foods, vegetable oils and animal feed.
Prepared foods are a priority because they account for 19 per cent of Canadian food and beverage exports.
“Investing in infrastructure, innovation and expanding product offerings will be critical to supporting this transition,” said FCC chief economist J.P. Gervais.
Mayors from across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Region have unveiled an Economic Transformation Action Plan that aims to attract 500,000 new businesses over the next 10 years.
It highlights economic growth in the areas while continuing to protect freshwater resources to create a world-renowned fresh coast economic corridor.
“As one of North America’s great global cities, Toronto is eager to build the Fresh Coast Economic Corridor in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Region,” said Toronto deputy mayor Paul Ainslie.
“Our shared waters connect us, and this action plan ensures they will also sustain us by driving innovation, strengthening resilience, and improving quality of life for millions of people. By working together across borders, we can show the world how cities and regions can lead in building a resilient and prosperous future."
The plan has goals that include a commitment to sustainability and creating 18 million jobs while avoiding any percentage increase in consumptive water loss and improving water quality.
The plan identifies 17 strategies and more than 76 actions for local government, as well as a 10-year blueprint to position the region as the Fresh Water Coast Economic Corridor.
South Bruce Ontario Provincial Police are offering a $2,000 award for information that leads to the arrest of a thief who stole a tractor by fraud.
According to investigators, a victim arranged the sale of a tractor from a property on Concession 2, but later discovered the transaction was fraudulent.
The tractor was taken from the location on a white transport truck with a flatbed trailer. The missing vehicle is described as a 2017 Fendt 714 Vario with a 5x85 front-end loader attached. It is green and red in colour, with serial number 738222694.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact South Bruce OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
Anonymous tips can also be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.cstip.ca. Tips may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.
A special agricultural event for local students in the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) was held Wednesday in Listowel.
The event, called Tractors, Tailgates and Tough Talks, was attended by Specialist High Skills Major Ag students from Clinton, Listowel, Mitchell and Wingham.
The Listowel Ag Society hosted the event at the ag hall in Listowel.
Ag Society president Caroline van der Heiden said it is important to .showcase ag careers for students.
"We want them to see how viable agriculture is in our community and around the province and country. There's more to it than just farming, there's a vast array of employment opportunities," she said.
Many employers participated, including Equipment Ontario, Premier Equipment, Brussels Agri-Service, Berlett Farms, North Perth Fire Department, OPP, Municipality of North Perth Ag Specialist and Set7 Skills and Technology Training Coordinator.
John (JD) Kuepfer, the head of Cooperative Education and the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship program coordinator from Listowel District Secondary School was cited as important in putting the event together.
McDonalds Canada is launching a new version of plant-based hamburgers, this time not a repeat of the previous trial with Beyond Meat’s product.
The new version is called McVeggie sandwich and the nation-wide launch follows trial in April and March.
The company said this sandwich has been designed specifically for Canada, featuring carrots, green beans, zucchini, peas, soybeans, broccoli and corn. It is served with shredded lettuce and a choice of creamy or spicy habanero sauce on a toasted sesame seed bun.
"The McVeggie isn't just a sandwich, it's a celebration of bold flavor and our commitment to serving all guests and their evolving tastes,” said Francesca Cardarelli, the company’s chief marketing officer. “This launch reflects McDonald's dedication to creating iconic moments with crave-worthy menu items."
Bunge has bought a huge elevator in Saskatchewan that closed last year when owner North West Terminal ran into financial difficulties.
Farmers have mixed reactions: happy that it’s open again, dismayed that Bunge gains even more market dominance after it took over Viterra which owns elevators once held by the big farmer-pwned provincial wheat pools.
North West Terminal was one of the largest and last remaining independent elevators in Canada.
North West Termina l(NWT) suspended all grain purchases from farmers and let its primary elevator licence expire in September, 2024.
NWT lost $28 million since 2016 and had loaned more than $48 million from the Bank of Montreal.
ADM and Alltech have signed a definitive agreement to launch a North American animal feed joint venture, bringing together decades of experience and unparalleled capabilities to create new advantages for customers, the companies announced on Sept. 23.
“The first company name I can remember, besides our own, is ADM — a name I’ve heard since I was 3 years old, and likely even earlier,” said Mark Lyons, president and chief executive officer of Alltech.
“My father’s very first order — and his second, for those who know the story of Alltech’s beginnings — came from ADM. That early vote of confidence helped shape our story. Over the decades, the relationship between our two companies has only grown stronger. We’ve long explored ways to partner more deeply, and now the time is right to align our passionate teams, proven products and shared values.”
“This expansion comes at a critical time for Chapman’s. Competition from multinationals has only increased in recent years,” said chief operating officer Ashley Chapman.
She and her husband founded the company.
“This project will help us to establish a stronger competitive ground,” she said.
It sells most of its ice creams in Canada, but also exports to the United Kingdom and European Union.
Invest Ontario’s investment allows them to “build a bigger, better facility” with autonomous robotics and create an additional 200 higher-paying rural jobs, said Chapman.
Khawar Nasim, chief executive officer of Invest Ontario., said “Chapman’s is a household name in Canada and an Ontario success story. Through this expansion, they are reinforcing their roots at home while opening doors to the world market. We’re proud to support this Ontario business that will create opportunities for Ontarians and strengthen the province’s supply chain resilience.”
Two owners of about 400 ostriches have been arrested because they defied orders to leave their farm so the Canadian Food Inspection Agency can have them euthanized to prevent the spread of highly-pathogenic avian influenza.
Two birds have been confirmed to be infected, prompting the CFIA to decide they need to be destroyed.
Karen Espersen, co-owner of Universal Ostrich Farms, and her daughter, Katie Pasitney, were arrested at the farm in Edgewood, B.C.
The CFIA order to cull the birds was issued in December, but the owners have fought it in courts which so far have ruled in favour of the CFIA.
They owners have yet to receive a response to their application to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The United States International Trade Commission has launched an investigation into mushoooms from Canada after six American companies complained about unfair competition.
Giorgio Fresh Co., the lead company, said Canadian fresh mushroom imports are heavily subsidized, low-priced and outcompeting the national industry.
But there is no evidence that Canadian mushrooms are gaining customers because of unfair trading practices, said the Canadian mushroom industry association.
Canadian growers are successful because they are more often better at growing high-quality fresh mushrooms, said Canadian company South Mill Champs.
“Frankly, the U.S. growers haven’t invested in modernization,” Lewis Macleod, chief executive officer of Pennsylvania-based South Mill Champs, whose operations are split evenly between the U.S. and Canada told the Globe and Mail. A number of operations across the U.S. have invested, he said, but not at the same rate.
Canadians exported $487 million worth of fresh mushrooms last year, $482 million of them to the U.S. That’s after steady increases xince 2-15 when it was $155 million.
The U.S. national mushroom associations – the Mushroom Council and American Mushroom – were not involved in the petition and refused to comment on its members’ legal actions before a U.S. federal agency.
Dr. Cassidy Klima has been chosen executive director of Animal Health Canada.
She comes from being an assistant professor at Texas A&M.
She has also been technical director with the Canadian Beef Cattle Research Council.
She is a veterinary graduate from the University of Saskatchewan.
Her experience with governments, producers and regulatory agencies will help her in her new role which includes much engagement with government officials who regulate animal health products.
She takes over from Colleen McElwain.
The council has its offices in Elora, Ont.
The Ministry of Natural Resources has posted a series of changes it intends to make to regulations governing aggregates (gravel pits).
Four changes, such as those relating to water levels, are updates.
It wants to drop 28 of its policies.
The proposals are posted on the government's regulations registry at https://www.regulatoryregistry.gov.on.ca/
Highline Produce in Kingsville has been fined $115,000 plus a 25 per cent victims’ surcharge after a worker was critically injured at the plant more than two years ago.
The worker was rolling and sanitizing nets on the net washing machine when the nets became misaligned. The worker was trying to realign the nets when his hands got caught on a rotating bar.
The Ministry of Labour investigated and discovered there were no measures, procedures, guards, or other devices in place to prevent workers from becoming entangled.
Mexico has imposed emergency measures after screwworms were detected in cattle 70 miles south of Texas.
The United States has banned cattle imports from Mexico because of the threat of screwworms which eat the flesh of live animals, including cattle and people.
Texas cattlemen are being urged to step up their vigilance since the recent discovery.
Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association President Carl Ray Polk Jr. said the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has been asked to intensify surveillance, coordinate response efforts and prepare cattle raisers and landowners for any potential incursion.
To date, the association has hosted 12 educational programs teaching ranchers and landowners how to monitor their own herds, implement best management practices and report suspected cases of New World Screwwroms.
The United States Department of Agriculture has five initiatives including sterile fly production, limiting cattle movement from infested areas of Mexico and strengthening southern border surveillance.
Screwworms were eradicated from the United States, but there has been resurgence in Mexico.
The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is asking hunters to help it detect chronic wasting disease in deer they kill this hunting season.
It is also asking them to report any sightings of deer, elk or caribou that are showing symtoms of the disease, such as severe loss of weight, tremors, lack of coordination or unusual behaviour.
The ministry will have enhanced surveillance in the Chatham-Kent area and from Sharbot Laker to Midland.
All hunters within the surveillance areas are encouraged to take the head of their deer, preferably within a few days of being harvested, to an MNR freezer depot. Depots will be open from early October to mid-December.
Hunters submitting a deer head are asked to provide their contact information and the date and general location of harvest. Hunters can find their test results at ontario.ca/CWD.
To report roadkill deer in the surveillance area that may be suitable for testing, call the ministry’s Wildlife Health Information Line at 1-888-574-6656, or email CWD@ontario.ca.
Sightings of ill animals can be reported to:
· The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative at 1-866-673-4781
· The ministry’s Wildlife Health Information Line at 1-888-574-6656
· The ministry’s CWD surveillance program at CWD@ontario.ca
This disease is a relative of mad cows disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) or Creutzfeldt Jakob disease of people.
A 15-year-old has died in a well near Arkona.
Police and other officials are investigating the death on Saturday afternoon.
Ontario Provincial Police for Middlesex County, Lambton County Emergency Measures Services and local fire departments responded to a farm on Parkhill Drive in the Middlesex County.
He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald is pushing for speedier decisions from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency.
“We need a stable regulatory environment. We need an even playing field with the countries that we trade with. We need to expedite those (regulatory) decisions much more quickly and much more effectively,” MacDonald said in a media scrum at the meeting of federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers in Winnipeg.
“We’re starting to see a change in that. We’ve seen in presentations, here, today (by) CFIA. We’ve seen a change in them. But we need to keep pushing that,” MacDonald said.
EDF is proposing to build a 20-turbine wind farm near Ridgetown.
The first steps will be consultations with the municipality of Chatham-Kent and the the Independent Electricity System Operator.
The Botany Wind Project would generate 100 megawatts of electricity and have a life span of 20 years. The proposal includes plans to dismantle or rejuvenate the turbines.
The company said it "will engage with community members, First Nations, local government officials, and local businesses to make sure the final project design is socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable. Our goal is to minimize potential impacts to the environment, local stakeholders, and to partner with First Nation communities."
Health Canada is narrowing the registration of dicamba sprayed on dicamba-resistant crops.
Bayer is a company that markets soybeans with combined resistance to dicamba and Roundup.
The new restriction bans spraying soybeans with dicamba after they are growing, rendering largely useless.
Bayer said it stands behind the safety of dicamba.
DuBreton, a Quebec-based pork processing company that serves niche markets, wants the federal government to mandate labeling for gene-edited pork.
Gene editing has been used to enhance pigs’ resistance to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory virus (PRRS) disease and other gene-editing projects are in the pipeline.
DuBreton’s offerings include organic pork. Organic standards prohibit gene editing.
“Without enforceable standards and transparent labelling, consumers cannot be certain the pork they purchase hasn’t been altered through genetic engineering,” said duBreton president Vincent Breton in a news release.
He also called on other certifying bodies, such as Humanely Raised and Raised Without Antibiotics, to make gene-editing labeling part of their standards.
This summer, the federal government completed public consultation around regulation of pigs that are resistant to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) due to gene editing.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the pigs for use in the American food supply earlier this year, saying the edits are safe for pigs and for humans who consume pork.
However, according to a duBreton survey, 74 per cent of consumers are “concerned about gene-edited pork in their food supply and demand total transparency,” the news release said.
It’s probable that most of those surveyed don’t understand gene editing’s effect on pork production and quality.