There has been a second outbreak of highly-pathogenic avian influenza in North Perth.

The first was five days earlier and meant the sacrifice of 56,000 turkeys.

There have been seven outbreaks in Ontario this year and 62 previous years for a total of 1,343,000 birds.

British Columbia has been hit the hardest, probably because poultry farms are clustered in the Fraser Valley.

There have been 35 this year and 241 in total resulting in the loss of more than 10 million birds.

Alberta Is next with 15 this year and a total of 98 and the loss of 2,511,000 birds.

Fire destroys a barn

 Fire completely destroyed a barn on Concession 2 SDR in the Municipality of West Grey.

Hanover, Neustadt, Ayton and Durham stations in West Grey, as well as firefighters from Elmwood and Minto fought the fire.

 

Nuts on recall

 

Arnie's All Ntrl Raw Mx Nuts and Arnie's Sweet & Savoury Mix recalled due to Salmonella.

The products were distributed in Ontario.

P+H buys grain elevators

Parrish & Heimbecker is buying four inland grain elevators and the half of Fraser Grain Terminal in the Port of Vancouver that it does not own.

The other half is owned by GrainsConnect Canada which was formed in 2015 by Australia’s GrainCorp and Japan’s Zen-Noh Grain Corp.

P&H is getting four high-capacity grain elevators as well as GCC’s 50 per cent stake in Fraser Grain Terminal at the Port of Vancouver.

The deal is scheduled to close early next year and is rumoured to be worth $150 million.

Carney responds on dairy trade

 

Prime Minister Mark Carney reaffirmed he'll protect Canada's supply management system, as the United States signalled it's ready to fight over this country's dairy rules at the negotiating table.

CBC reported his response to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer who told members of U.S. Congress Wednesday that Washington is not prepared to extend the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement (CUSMA) without addressing "specific and structural issues."

In remarks made public after Greer met with lawmakers behind closed doors, President Donald Trump's point-person on trade said Americans have concerns about "dairy market access in Canada" and "Canada's exports of certain dairy products."

But to be clear, Greer also said he is not aiming to have Canada get rid of supply management for dairy farmers, just to improve U.S. access to the Canadian market and low-priced Canadian imports of milk. Ingredients.

The U.S. has complained for years that Canada is unfair in the way it hands out permits to allow a limited volume of U.S. dairy imports.

                        

Haitian recruits sue JBS

Haitians living in the United States were lured to Greeley, Colorado, to work for JBS meat-packing plant during the COVID-19 pandemic; now they have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging abuse.

 

The lawsuits cites injuries, discrimination and inhospitable living conditions.

 

Sixty were put into one house; at the Rainbow Motel up to 11 workers were put into a room with one bed, no bathroom or kitchen. One worker said in the lawsuit that it felt like being in jail. At its peak, the 17-room motel housed more than 100 Haitians, according to the lawsuit.

 

JBS normally has 4,000 workers at the Greeley plant, but some refused to work after COVID-19 infection spread so the company was eager to fiind willing workers. It hooked up with a recruiter who used Tik Tok to advertise to Haitians living in the United States.

JBS charged some workers weekly fees for housing and tacked on a charge for trips to the plant. Without money or transportation, the refugees had to rely on the recruiter for trips to the grocery store or restaurants. One worker said he didn’t eat for two days.

 

As new recruits steadily arrived, JBS needed to make room at the motel. So the company moved dozens of Haitians to a five-bedroom house nearby, charging them $70 a week. As many as 60 people were living at the house during its height, the complaint alleges. Sometimes there was no electricity or water.

During their first week of work, JBS gave the recruits a four-day orientation focused on safety and work policies. But the training sessions were only in English and Spanish, according to the lawsuit. French or Creole are the main language for many of the Haitians.

Training supervisors then falsified records on behalf of the new workers to ensure they could pass quickly and begin work as soon as possible, an accusation reported by The Denver Post and made in a separate lawsuit against JBS earlier this year.

 

Work at the plant, meanwhile, was exceptionally dangerous. Employees endured lacerations, amputations, severe burns and musculoskeletal injuries, the complaint alleges.

JBS also employs a number of newcomers to Canada at the beef-packing plant it runs in Alberta. It and Cargill are Canada’s dominant beef packers.

                           

 

Egg levies unchanged

 

The national supply management agency for eggs has asked its supervisory body to allow it to stop setting minimum and maximum amounts for various funds it manages.

It said the market is so volatile that it feels it’s better to charge levies to meet average expenses over previous years.

The funds are for issues such as removal of surplus eggs, compensation for disease outbreaks, research and administration.

The agency also asked the National Farm Products Council to approve a special production quota for next year to keep the market supplied during outbreaks of highly-pathogenic avian influenza that force elimination of flocks.

The amount is 1,154,500 laying hens.

It also asked that the daily compensation rate for chairman Roger Pelissero be increased from $550 to $563 and for directors from 

$500 to $512.:

Pelissero’s monthly honorarium is increased from $6,000 to $6,142.

The council approved all of the requests.

CFIA silent

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's website indicates there has not been even one of thousands of its licence holders who have been prosecuted for breaking its regulations.

There is also a big fat zero for companies previously hauled into court and convicted this year.

It might be a failure to update the website, or a CFIA failure to police food safety.

CFIA suspends Halal packer’s licence

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has suspended the licence of Aliments Halal Sano Inc., located in Lasalle, Quebec.

It said the company failed because it did not have adequate identification and analysis of hazards, a preventive control plan and traceability.

The company is effectively out of business until it complies with all regulations and meets all standards for food safety.

Canada, United Kingdom, make vet medicine deal

Canada and the U.K. have agreed to work together to streamline the regulation of veterinary medicines and vaccines.

The agreements was announced by Canada’s chief veterinary officer Mary Jane Ireland and the United Kingdom’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate deputy chief executive officer, Gavin Hall/

They said Canada and the U.K. will co-operate to streamline the pre-market assessment and approval process for veterinary medicines and vaccines.

This will include sharing scientific expertise and information, discussing common priorities and looking at joint reviews of veterinary products.

In June, Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer also committed to partnering on several issues related to economic grow, including trade, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and biomanufacturing

Packers losing money on costly steers

 

Choice steer prices have increased by nearly seven dollars per hundredweight in the United States and pushed beef packers into losses of $50.58 per head, reported Sterling Marketing.,

Choice steers cost $227.90 per hundredweight.

That was good news for feedlots which made an average of $272.06 per head. Earlier this month they were making $163.37 per head

The increase in cash cattle prices pushed estimated feedlot margins to an average $272.06 per head for the week, up from $109.82 per head the prior week.

Province to help cap wells

The province is offering $4 million to eight municipalities to help them cap abandoned gas and oil wells.

Mike Harris, Minister of Natural Resources said the province will be working with municipal governments on the program.

His ministry has counted 269 oil and gas wells in Brant County, where he made the announcement with an offer of $200,000.

Of that, only 10 are active, 100 are declared inactive and information is missing on 100.

Local MPP Will Bouma said the wells are a “very real” concern to farmers because they could contaminate soil and water.

The county has purchased a drone which can detect wells emitting hydrogen-sulphide gas up to 300 metres away.

Thieves rob Cambridge community garden

Thieves struck twice, taking tools and farm equipment from Springbank Community Garden in Cambridge.

The second time the thieves were spotted driving away on Blair Road in a pickup truck.

Taryn Jarvis, the facility co-ordinator for the Charitable Research Reserve where the gardens are located, said she hopes enough money can be raised from the community to replace the stolen items.

"They were only up there for about two minutes because we can see them go up the hill with their truck, and then drive down the hill with my trailer and the riding lawn mower in the back of it," Jarvis said of the second theft.

She said some community gardeners no longer feel safe and may not continue gardening there next year., yet she doesn’t feel anybody is at risk of harm.

"Over these past 10 years we've grown well over 35,000 lbs of organic vegetables that are harvested and delivered to the Cambridge Food Bank on the day they're picked,” she told CBC news Kitchener.

 “t's the best quality produce the food bank is getting and a lot of people come out to help with that project," she said.

Jarvis said they plan to install some new security features, including a lockable barn structure.

China rolls back pork tariffs

China is rolling back tariffs on European pork from up to 65 per cent down to between five and 20 per cent.

It imposed the tariffs after Europe put a tariff on China’s electrical vehicles.

There has been no word yet about a similar 25 per cent tariff on Canadian pork imposed in March after Canada put a tariff of 100 per cent on Chinese electrical vehicles. China also hit Canada with tariffs of 76 per cent on canola seed and 100 per. Cent on canola oil, meal and peas,

China said its new and lower tariff on European pork will remain steady for five years.

Two bird flu cases in North Perth

 

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has established quarantine zones in North Perth County because there have been two outbreaks of highly-pathogenic avian influenza.

                           

 

 

Canada’s wheat exports increase

 

Canada’s wheat exports are ahead of last year and trending towards a record, according to one Canadian market analyst.

 

The world’s top seven wheat-exporting countries have also had record harvests.

They are looking to China which they hope will import more wheat and feed grains because of poor quality corn and spring wheat harvests there.

Market analyst Chuck Penner said If China were to start buying corn and wheat again in a bigger way, that changes the global dynamic to quite a large degrees.

Penner works for Leftfield Commodity Research and made his comments during a meeting of the Canaryseed Development Commission of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

He said Canadian wheat exports might set a record of 24 million tonnes this crop year.

A big barley harvest is displacing Canadian imports of U.S. corn and is fuelling exports because Canadian barley prices are more competitive with France, Ukraine, Argentina and Australia, he said.

Prices for some grains are under downward pressure, he said, including feed wheat, durum and oats due to quality issues with those crops.

Canadian farmers produced 7.1 million tonnes of durum, the largest crop since 2016-17.

Mexico investigating pork imports

Mexico has launched an investigation into whether pork imports have been unfairly subsidized.

The United States is the chief target and the complaints filed by Mexico’s largest hog producers points to a number of subsidies, including ones during COVID-19, the one to encourage more meat-packing competitors and subsidies for corn and soybeans.

United States President Donald Trump recently announced $12 billion in farm subsidies to compensate for the impacts from the tariff wars he started.

 Mexico Business News said the farmers who called for the investigation account for 64 per cent of the nation’s pork production.

They Mexican allege that U.S. exports of pork leg and shoulder were, because of federal and state subsidies, guilty of price discrimination and illegal subsidies in 2024, and that such practices damaged the Mexican pork industry.

The U.S. exported more than 92 million pounds of pork products to Mexico last year; it was the chief export market.

Canada ought to launch its own investigations into unfair U.S. farm subsidies.

Fish farmers want into Agriculture Canada

Canada’s fish farmers want out from under Fisheries and Oceans Canada and into Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

Tim Kennedy president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance said efforts are underway to have aquaculture defined as a bona fide farming enterprise and brought under the umbrella of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

As well as better promotion the association’s members would benefit from agriculture’s risk management and safety net programs, he said.

Aquaculture needs a department to champion and promote its cause as a viable agricultural enterprise,” he said in a recent speech in Calgary.

Canada could become a world leader in farmed fish and seafood, he said.

Yet a ban on open-net salmon farming along the British Columbia coast is coming into effect in 2029 and that whole approach to fish farming is under public attack, mainly because of concerns about spreading diseases.

Kennedy argued that penned fish farming is safe.

It is also important to indigrnous communities along Canada’s coasts, he said with backing from Kallie Woo, president and chief executive officer or the National Circle for Indigenous Agriculture and Food.

Kennedy said Canada has far more coastlines than Norway, which is the world’s leader in farmed salmon production.

Canada’s aquaculture industry peaked in 2018 at 200,000 tonnes of fish and seafood products. However, with the two salmon farms closed in B.C. in the Broughton Archipelago and Discovery Island in British Columbia and production declined by about 40 per cent.

In 2023, total aquaculture production dropped to 145,000 tonnes (including farmed fish and shellfish). Of that total, about 80,000 tonnes was farmed salmon.

Kennedy expects the 2024 production numbers to further drop to about 130,000 tonnes.

Public consultation opens on trade deals

 

The federal government is inviting public reaction to four potential trade deals with India, Thailand, the United Arab Emerates and the Mercosur bloc of nations.

The Mercosur bloc is Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Venezuela was kicked out.

The comment period is open to Jan. 26.

Europe has also negotiated a deal with Mercosur, but it has strong opposition from farmers, especially in France.

They insist that any imports must meet European production standards.

New ways to counter Colorado potato beetles

New ideas are being explored to control Colorado potato beetles which defy pesticides by multiplying resistant strains as fast as new products hit the market.

Dr. Rebecca Hallett of the University of Guelph is working with two sets of students, one at Guelph, the other at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, with beetle traps and with pheromones (scents) that attract their natural enemies or lure Colorado potato beetles out of potato fields.

One set of pheremones attracts bugs out, the other lures them in.

The pheremones could be specific to parasitic enemies such as pink lady beetles and spinned soldier bugs.

Or plants such as sweet alyssum that are attractive to the parasites could be planted around potato fields.

Biological controls are increasingly seen as a growing part of integrated pest management, Hallett said.

Spuds face challenges

Consumers worried about their weight and new federal packaging regulations are hitting Ontario potato growers.

The overall Ontario crop this year was reasonably good, but some farms were hit by drought.

But potato demand is declining, Victoria Strong told the annual meeting of the Ontario Potato Marketing Board. She is general manager of United Potato Growers of Canada.

She said consumers who are taking pills such as Ozempic to control diabetes and help them lose weight are impacting potato sales.

And the new front-of-the-package labels will include a notice if sodium, saturated fats and sugars are high.

As with Ozempic takers, the immediate impact will be on snacks such as potato chips, but Strong said there has also been spillover into demand for fresh potatoes.

There are a lot of challenges right now, but there are a lot of opportunities, she said. Both the industry and customers are reacting, she said.

For example, in the U.S. packers shifted down to five-pound bags and then went further to three smaller sizes.

She said in Ontario the chip, fresh market and seed potato industries remain robust, but the harvest was large. Buy Canadian sentiment began strong in April, but is waning.

Antimicrobial use increased

After years of reductions, last year antimicrobial use on farms in the United States increased by 16 per cent.

That’s worrisome to health professionals because widespread use of microbials encourages the increase of bacteria that are resistant to antimicrobials.

Among those bacteria are ones that cause serious infections and illnesses in people.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine recently published data provided by drug companies which must report their sales volumes to the government.

Sales had been declining since 2017 after hitting a peak in 2015. Last year’s sales were 27 per cent below that peak.

Farm machinery sales steady

Despite lower crop prices and tariffs, sales of tractors and combines have  held steady so far this year.

Tractor sales are down by three-tenths of one per cent and combne sales are up by 1.6 per cent.

But sales of four-wheel-drive tractors are down by 22.5 per cent and of two-wheel tractors were down by eight-tenths of one per cent.

Sales in the United States were down by 9.7 for tractors and by 38.4 per cent for combines.

Ostrich Farm loses appeal

 

 

Universal Ostrich Farm of British Columbia has lost its appeal against a $10,000 fine levied by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The Canada Agriculture Appeal Tribunal found that the agency had the right to impose the administrative penalty because the farm failed report that two birds died of highly-pathogenic avian influenza.

The farm later fought an agency order to kill the entire flock of about 300 birds to prevent spread of the disease and the court challenges went on for about a year. The farm lost. The CFIA destroyed the ostriches in November.

Rabobank says meat prices to remain high

 

Rabobank is predicting that meat prices will remain high next year, especially beef prices.

Production will continue to decrease, it said. An increase for poultry will be offset by declines in beef and pork, it said, resulting in the first annual decline in six years.

While we expect feed costs to remain steady, lower protein supplies, rising volatility and trade costs, and disease pressure will weigh on margins, it said.

 Processors may face ongoing challenges around capacity utilization, as well as trade disruptions resulting from tariffs and other protectionist measures, it said. 

All of this could raise costs, pressure demand, and ultimately squeeze margins. In both mature and developing markets, a focus on increasing efficiency and productivity will be critical at the farm and processor level.

Yet, substitution is not always straightforward, as some proteins are not always considered direct substitutes for more premium products, it said.

                           

Food inflation continues high

 

Food prices continued to increase more than general inflation in November.

The overall inflation rate was 2.2 per cent, which was the same as October.

 But food p4ices increased by 4.7 per cent, much higher than in October when the increase was 3.4 per cent.

Fresh fruit prices were up by 4.4 per cent, food preparations by 6.6 per cent, beef by 17.7 per cent and coffee by 27.8 per cent.

Aoun tahineh under recall

 

 

Because Canadian Food Inspection Agency detected food-poisoning bacteria, Aoun brand tahini is under recall.

The CFIA said no consumers have reported falling ill after consuming the product.

It was distributed in Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Saskatchewan.

                           -

Two hog disease outbreaks

 

 

Swine Health Ontario has reported two new disease outbreaks at hog finisher farms in Middlesex County.

One is an outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus ((PED) and the other of Porcine Deltacorona virus (PDCov).

Evan Smith hired by veggie board

Evan Smith has been hired by the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers to lead sustainable infrastructure initiatives, to advance energy efficiency, environmental stewardship and long-term competitiveness.

He has been a program and policy assistant with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and led a research team at the New Brunswick Research Institute for Research, Data, and Training.

He earned a Master of International Public Policy from the Balsillie School of International Affairs at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont., and an honours bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of New Brunswick.

For Perth County Pork producer Kevin Brown, farming isn’t just a job it’s his passion. 

“I love it,” said Kevin. “Knowing that each day you did the best you can to care for the pigs.”  

Kevin is a contract finishing pork producer. Which means he owns his dual- vent barn, but the pigs that he looks after are owned by someone else.  

“I’m basically, caring for someone else’s inventory and investment, but I try and care for them like they are my own.” 

As a new load of animals arrive at his farm, Kevin keeps a watchful eye on each of the nursey pigs that come down the chute.  

“The stage of the pigs coming in today are about 70 lbs, we’ll take them up to 285-290 before they leave to go to market.” 

Each new batch delivered to Kevin’s barn is between 1800 to 2000 pigs and he’ll raise them for approximately 105 days. His main responsibilities are making sure his water and feeding systems are working correctly, watching the condition of the pigs to ensure they are eating and drinking, and maintaining a consistent temperature in the barn. 

“It can be cyclical, where your heavy workload is shipping, then washing and cleaning the barn, but once you’re refilled and they are growing it’s a little lighter duty.”    

Brown

By Jim Romahn

Dec. 12/25

Kevin Brown’s story on pork website

The story of how Kevin Brown survived a near-death experience to be a one-arm hog farmer has been posted on the Ontario Pork board website.

He was a hockey-game linesman trying to break up a fight when a skate slashed his carotid artery and resulted in a major stroke impacting two-thirds of his brain.

He lost feeling in his left arm, fingers and toes in that accident in 2009.

He is a fifth-generation farmer in Perth County where he uses his barn to contact-raise market hogs.

 “The doctor told me I’d never have fine finger movement again, which is another curve ball complication when trying to do work in the barn like where you’re mechanically trying to fix things, it’s a challenge,” he is quoted in the article.

“I’ve figured out a few adjustments to make my life simpler and more worker friendly.”  

His positive attitude and optimistic outlook shines through when he talks about his farm. He says his motivation is knowing that his small role in the pork industry is helping feed families.   

“It all comes down to your own drive and outlook.”  

“The stage of the pigs coming in today are about 70 pounds. We’ll take them up to 285-290 before they leave to go to market.” 

Each batch is 1800 to 2,000 pigs and will have them for about 105 days.

“It can be cyclical, where your heavy workload is shipping, then washing and cleaning the barn, but once you’re refilled and they are growing it’s a little lighter duty,”  he said.

                           

Roslin Institute trials needle-free vaccination

The Roslin Institute in Scotland has conducted a successful trial of needle-free vaccination of pigs. It’s a first for vaccinations.

It used technology developed by aVaxziPen to vaccinate pigs to generate immunity to Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome virus (PRRS).

A solid-dose vaccine is placed just below the skin and is combined with a nasal spray.

The Roslin Institute said this marks the first time that needle-free, solid-dose vaccine technology has been shown to work in any species.

Despite almost four decades of research, modified live vaccines (MLV) remain critical for PRRS control, especially in unstable herds, the researchers said.

CFIA suspends licence

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has suspended the licence of Mohammad Bagheri of Mississauga who distributes products under the name of Minerva Spices.

The CFIA said the licence was suspended to protect the safety of the company’s clients.

Lawyer appointed vice chair of animal care

 

Tassia Poynter has been appointed to a two-year term as vice-chair of the Animal Care Review Board.

She is a lawyer with litigation experience and writes decisions for a statutory committee dealing with the Health Professions Act.

The board hears appeals from people whose animals have been seized or face orders by animal welfare officials.

Morano appointed to food terminal board

 

Antonio Morano of Barrie has been appointed to a three-year term on the Ontario Food Terminal board of directors.

The board of eight people runs the province’s largest public fruits and produce market in Toronto.

Dairy Farmers choose AcMoody

         

Report calls on CFIA to be compassionate

 

A report by three farm organizations in Western Canada is calling on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to be compassionate, provide more compensation and be more transparent when dealing with disease outbreaks that involve destruction of farmers’ complete herds and flocks.

There have been dozens of outbreaks of avian influenza, especially recently in British Columbia and Alberta.

Producers require empathetic support, better compensation and information sharing during a disease outbreak said speakers at a forum organized by Animal Health Canada.

The report was issued by the Outbreak Support Network which is supported by the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network, Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership and the Western Canadian Animal Health Network.

The report addressed outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis, foot and mouth disease and highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Betty Althouse, former chief veterinary officer for Saskatchewan, said “the goal of the Outbreak Support Network is to establish a framework for supporting private veterinary practitioners and producers dealing with a suspected or confirmed case reportable to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.”

The goal of the network’s current phase is to articulate problems, develop solutions and make recommendations for the next phase. Althouse said in a recent speech about the interim report.

By far, the top one was communication and information sharing, she said. 

This creates a problem where producers are at the intersection of various agencies asking them for the same information, such as local health units and CFIA.

“That is very frustrating to public health, and it’s also very frustrating to the producers, because they’re hearing another federal agency that they don’t know whether it’s different or the same from CFIA … asking the same questions they’ve already answered.”

She encouraged more information-sharing methods and transparency among jurisdictions to address this problem.

She said the CFIA assigns a case officer and that can make a big difference by providing a single source for reliable information throughout the response to the disease outbreak, yet sometimes information is left out.

Farmers also said they felt the CFIA lacked empathy for the stress involves in depopulation.

Private veterinarians have complained about lack of compensation for the time they spend helping farmers, including those within quarantine zones.

She said some poultry specialist veterinarians felt they had as much or more expertise than CFIA officials and they wanted their input considered and included.

They were a little resentful of the time that was expected of them on calls and working groups that they weren’t paid for, Althouse said.

Coordination and standardized frameworks among government agencies will be important, she said, and the CFIA website should be made easier to navigate.

She said the industry should consider insurance. Deborah Whale of Ontario led a years-long effort to develop am disease insurance program. Canada’s national egg marketing agency has a reciprocal insurance program.

Country or origin labelling rules announced

 

The United States has announced new regulations for its voluntary Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) law.

The changes extend the COOL regulations from prime cuts to multi-ingredient processed meats. 

To qualify for a Product of the USA label, the meats must be from animals, born, raised and slaughtered in the United States.

Spices and flavourings don’t need to be from the U.S.

The rules say the meaning of “raised” is “from birth to slaughter and the term “harvested” may be used to mean "slaughtered"

Tyson, Cargill ready to pay for beef price-fixing

 Tyson Foods and Cargill have told a federal judge in the District of Columbia that they are ready to settle a lawsuit for beef consumers who filed a class-action lawsuit alleging price-fixing.

Up to 36 million Americans could be in line for a share of the settlement but will need proof of their beef purchases.

Tyson has offered $55 million and Cargill $32.5 million; in Canadian currency, that’s a total of $121.15 million.

The judge has given preliminary approval to the deal, but the final decision has yet to be issued.

                           

Three PED outbreaks

 

 

Swine Health Ontario reported three new outbreaks of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus on Dec. 8.

They are at a nursery and a finishing barn in Perth County and a farrow-to-wea facility in Wellington County.

CFIA finds filler in grated cheeses

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said 45 per cent of the hard grated cheeses it tested had too much cellulose.

That amounts to cheating consumers because cellulose is much cheaper than hard cheese. It’s added to prevent caking.

The finding is in a report te CFIA issued recently about its checking for fraud and false label claims.

It’s no surprise that virgin olive oil was the biggest offender because it has been found wanting in previous years and it’s a world-wide issue.

Referee rules railway must pay for drains

Chatham-Kent has won a victory against Canadian Pacific – Kansas Railway.

The Ontario Drainage Referee has ruled the railway must pay for drainage work along its railway line.

For railway refused to pay for municipal drainage work.

The Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA), which presented impacts to rural municipalities as a legal intervenor, said in a press release that the ruling is “an important milestone.”

ROMA chair Christa Lowry said its argument in favour of Chatham-Kent showed compelling evidence that the corporation was systematically disregarding laws that have governed drainage in Ontario for 150 years,

“Through collaboration with many rural municipalities, we illustrated the financial, economic, and environmental impact of this behaviour on rural communities,” ROMA said in a news release.

U.S. negotiator calls for separatge trade deals for CUSMA

Jamieson Greer, who plays a key role in all trade negotiations, including the upcoming review of the trade deal among Canada, Mexico and the United States (CUSMA,) is laying out a strong case for separate bilateral deals with Canada and Mexico.

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau promised Mexico that Canada would not strike a separate deal.

The three countries have had joint deals for 30 years and the neighbours have felt they stand a better chance negotiating together than alone with the U.S.

But Greer told a recent meeting of the Atlantic Council that our economic relationship with Canada is very, very different than our economic relationship with Mexico.

"The labour situation's different. The import-export profile is different. The rule of law is different. So it makes sense to talk about things separately with Canada and Mexico," he said.

The United States has until Jan. 2 to indicate to Congress whether it wants to extend the agreement, renegotiate its terms or let it expire.

Jamieson Greer, who plays a key role in all trade negotiations, including the upcoming review of the trade deal among Canada, Mexico and the United States (CUSMA,) is laying out a strong case for separate bilateral deals with Canada and Mexico.

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau promised Mexico that Canada would not strike a separate deal.

The three countries have had joint deals for 30 years and the neighbours have felt they stand a better chance negotiating together than alone with the U.S.

But Greer told a recent meeting of the Atlantic Council that our economic relationship with Canada is very, very different than our economic relationship with Mexico.

"The labour situation's different. The import-export profile is different. The rule of law is different. So it makes sense to talk about things separately with Canada and Mexico," he said.

The United States has until Jan. 2 to indicate to Congress whether it wants to extend the agreement, renegotiate its terms or let it expire.