A group of commercial and institutional pork buyers has reached a settlement with Tyson Foods but the amount remains to be revealed when the courts approve the deal.
This lawsuit was filed by the Commercial and Institutional Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs..
Earlier this month a federal judge granted preliminary approval of a class action settlement requiring Tyson Foods Inc. to pay $85 million to the Consumer Indirect Purchaser Plaintiffs class.
A study of supply chains has found that the United Stagtes hog-feeding industry is heavily reliant on imports from China.
The study by The Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER), in partnership with Decision Innovation Solutions and Lobo Consulting Solutions, said that makes the U.S. hog industry vulnerable t supply chain interruptions.
It reports that the U.S. has limited domestic production of amino acids, accounting for less than 20 per cent of global capacity, and almost no production of vitamins, except for niacin (B3), which makes up just seven per cent of total global output.
As a result, the U.S. feed industry relies heavily on imports, particularly from China, which supplies a significant share of supplemental amino acids and vitamins., the report said.
For example, all of the imported lysine is from China.
Vitamin imports are highly dependent on China especially for thiamine (B1), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), and vitamin E, where Chinese sources account for more than 80 per cent of the total imports.
The report said this heavy dependence on imports from a limited number of sources highlights the vulnerability of U.S. animal feed production to global supply chain disruptions.
If supply chain disruptions occur, diet modifications could compensate for some supplemental nutrients.
For market hogs, reformulating diets to offset restricted supplementation was partially feasible using alternative feed ingredients (e.g., alfalfa meal, soybean meal, DDGS, and fishmeal). However, such adjustments increased feed costs and, in some cases, especially for B vitamins and vitamin D, no practical formulation could meet industry nutrient standards without supplementation of vitamins.
Metro Inc. reported a sales increase of 3.4 per cent for its fourth quarter, which is less than the rate of food price inflation tracked by Statistics
Canada.
Net earnings slipped from $219 million from $217 million, but that was impacted by a $22.5 million loss when its frozen foods distribution centre for Ontario failed and was shut down for two months for repairs.
There was loss of some frozen products.
Growing Chefs! Ontario has won the top prize in the annual Excellence in Agriculture Awards competition organized by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
In addition to the Minister’s Award, it won in the Education Excellence category as did Hilmanor Holsteins of Perth County,
Growing Chefs! Ontario is in Middlesex County and is a registered charity advancing food literacy by connecting chefs, growers, educators, and community members through hands-on food education projects.
Its school programming has reached more than 5,000 students and contributed to provincial curriculum development.
It supports food access through community gardens, nutrition programs and food box distribution, while fostering partnerships that strengthen local food systems across Ontario.
The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers marketing board was the winner in the Promotional Excellence Category.
Haven Greens of York Region and Vineland Research of Niagara Region won for research and innovation.
BMKC Canada Inc. of Bruce County won for food processing excellence.
Stone Bridge Flour of Ripley in Bruce County won the award for supply chain excellence.
Alexiou Farms of Simcoe County won the Indigenous, Metis of Inuit-owned Business or Community Excellence award.
Alexiou Farms, owned and operated by first-generation potato grower John Alexiou, integrates knowledge on Indigenous agriculture principles including crop rotation and soil stewardship to provide fresh potatoes to local consumers and regularly donates to food banks and churches. Through social media, John shares the process of potato production, providing education and awareness of the Ontario agri-food sector.
The Fifty Acre Garden of Coldwater in Simcoe County won the Farm Family Excellence award, Canadian Women in Food of Toronto won the Women’s Excellence award and Konrad Borowski of Beeton in Waterloo Region the Youth Excellence award He is 23 and founded Beekon which uses technology to address pollinator health.
Beekon’s recyclable, buoyant beehives adapt to flooding and support pollination in wetlands and has a pilot project underway in Malawi, Africa.
Northern Wildflowers of Lively in the Greater Sudbury municipality the Northern Business Excellence Award.
Canada’s chicken farmers have reduced carbon remissions by six per cent per kilogram over the seven years from 2016 top 2023, according to an audit performed by Groupe AGÉCO.
There was also a six per cent improvement in feed conversion and the carbon footprint related to feed declined by 10 per cent.
Water consumption held steady.
Tom Klompmaker, president of the Chicken Farmers of Canada national supply management agency, said he is proud of producers.
Some United States packers west of the Great Lakes have stopped buying Canadian hogs because voluntary country of origin labeling comes into effect Jan. 1.
It's having a big impact on Manitoba hog producers, according to Lorne Voth, president of ProLine Pork Marketing.
The new labeling rules will restrict companies from adding “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA” labels to meat, poultry and egg products unless they come from animals born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States.
That means the rules impact both market-ready Canadian hogs and weaners.
Last year Canada exported 6.8 million hogs valued at $779 million to the United States.
Voth said packers in the Eastern U.S. are happy to buy Canadian hogs to fill their shackle space.
Baekdu Peak brand Enoki mushrooms are under recall.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it found Listeria monocytogenes food-poisoning bacteria in the mushrooms.
No illnesses have been linked to these mushrooms.
There have been more than a dozen recalls of Enoki mushrooms this year.