Finland to build border fence

 

Finland is going to build an electric fence to control the wild boar population.

The fence will not only keep the nuisance pigs out, but also make it easier to corral and kill pigs inside the fence.

It will be made of lightweight material and be 120 centimetres tall. The fence does not prevent the movement of people or animals other than wild boars. There will be an opening or gate at roads.

The top wire will have colorful marking tape.

The estimated construction cost of over one million euros ($157 million Cdn) is covered by the Finnish Food Authority.

The fence line is designed to avoid private land.

Some chickens growing too big

 

Concerns are rising about chickens that are being grown too big and resulting in an increase of woody and spaghetti breast syndrome, according to poultry industry analysts in the United States.

IConcerns have been raised by Espana and McDonalds Restaurants.

Espana is a world-wide market intelligence company.

Stephens Inc. analysts reiterated a “mixed tone” in chicken, with record production being absorbed by strong demand but buyers less willing to pay higher prices. 

Egg sets, the analysts noted, remain elevated compared with last year but have moderated in recent weeks, while live weights have declined more recently.

Franchisees, according to Stephens, cited tougher meat and suggested sourcing smaller birds, potentially creating challenges for major supplier Tyson Foods due to its focus on its new genetics line.

Ontario cheeses win at the Royal

 

Glengarry Fine Cheese won grand champion cheddar at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

Stonetown Artisan Cheese won grand champion variety cheese for its Wildwood brand.

Fromagerie Nouvelle France of Quebec won grand champion in the category that includes goat, cheep, water buffalo and mixed variety cheese.

Mountainoak Cheese of New Hamburg won a number of firsts.

National Beef won’t buy Canadian cattle

 

National Beef, the fourth-largest beef packer, has adopted Product of U.S.A. labeling.

It joins 30 others who have adopted the voluntary label since it became available. Most of them are small regional packers.

Canada successfully challenged two previous attempts to make country-of-origin labeling mandatory. That would have required packers to either stop buying cattle and/or beef from other countries or to maintain two separate supply and processing chains.

The voluntary standard for meat and poultry became available in March, 2024.

“Since National Beef’s start in 1992, our facilities have been processing beef in the United States and our three beef packing facilities purchase all of their cattle needs from U.S. feedyards,” said Tim Klein ,  the company’s chief executive officer.

“Consumers increasingly ask for products made in the USA. With this label on our products, customers will know the beef comes from cattle that were born, raised and processed entirely within the United States.”

Meat Council outlines its plans

 The Canadian Meat Council has a three-year plan to strengthen the red meat processing industry through regulatory advocacy, trade competitiveness and improved crisis preparedness.

The plan sets three primary objectives: strengthening the council’s membership and engagement, expanding industry advocacy and preparing processors for regulatory changes, market disruptions and potential crises.

it also plans to develop a three-year policy agenda addressing trade, labor, food security and climate issues. 

It also wants improved regulatory consistency across federally inspected establishments and greater efficiency and modernization within the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The council planned to establish an industry crisis coordination task force focused initially on African swine fever, foot-and-mouth disease and other events that could threaten the industry’s reputation. 

The initiative would include crisis communication protocols and annual preparedness exercises.

The council said its industry generates approximately $35 billion in annual economic output and supports more than 250,000 jobs.

Minor hike to farm registration fee

 

There could be a minor increase in the farm registration fee the Ontario agriculture department charges if farmers want access to its subsidies and services.

The proposal is to increase the administration fee the beneficiary farm organizations can charge by $2.30 plus HST per registration. The new fee would be $22.60. 

However, the increase to the fee would only impact the farm organizations which review and provide input on the program delivery budget before it is finalized, the ministry said on the province’s regulations registry.

While farmers pay the fee to AgriCorp, the money goes to support the general farm organization the farmer chooses.

The current fee totals $288.15.

A farm plan for biosecurity

Canadian pork producers have a new plan available to help them with 

The Canadian Pork Council was involved on a team that included the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, provincial pork organizations, swine veterinarians and researchers, to come up with a biosecurity guideline and benchmark.

Ravneet Kaur, director of national animal health and policy with the Canadian Pork Council, outlined the initiative during Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium 2026 in Saskatoon.

She said African swine fever has been a major focus of the industry’s preparedness efforts over the past eight years. but work is also expanding to include foot-and-mouth disease and highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Kaur identified four central areas of work: biosecurity and prevention, planning and preparedness, business continuity, and communications.

“The common thread between all of this is the coordination that we do as an industry, with governments, with other partners,” she told Farmscape.

The voluntary resource gives producers a framework for reviewing biosecurity alongside their veterinarians and industry organizations.