PED in Middlesex finisher barn

 

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus has broken out at a hog-finishing operation in Middlesex County.

Wheat stocks drop, canola rise

 

Statistics Canada reports that Canadian wheat stocks were down by 18.5 per cent by the end of July compared with a year earlier.

Canola stocks were up by 67 per cent.

It said one of the reasons wheat stocks were down was a one per cent decline in total supply.

Commercial stocks rose 39.7 per cent to 3.8 million tonnes while on-farm stocks fell 72.7 per cent to 796 000 million tonnes. 

Canadian canola stocks increased to 3.1 million tonnes; commercial stocks rose 129 per cent to 2.3 million tonnes while on-farm stocks fell 7.7 per cent to 775,000 tonnes. 

Canadian processors increased canola crushing by 9.1 per cent to a record 11.5 million tonnes. Much of that increase was for biofuel.

Higher domestic disappearance was more than offset by lower Canola exports were down by 15.9 per cent to 6.7 million tonnes.

NFU stands against world trade

 

The National Farmers Union issued a news release announcing its opposition to the World Trade Organization and trade deals that hurt low-income farmers.

It said “the National Farmers Union joins our allies in the global peasant movement, La Via Campesina, to commemorate the sacrifice of Korean peasant leader, Lee Kyung Hae who 21 years ago on this day at the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, took his life in protest against the WTO wearing a sign that read “WTO Kills Farmers.” 

“Today, farmers, farm workers, peasants and Indigenous peoples organized in La Via Campesina honour Mr. Lee and continue to fight in the Global Day of Action Against the WTO and Free Trade Agreements,” the NFU said.

“We see this power grab most evidently today in the acceleration of attacks on farmer’s seed rights, farmland grabs, rural depopulation, farm income crisis, worker exploitation, forced migration, environmental degradation, climate crisis and on-going patriarchy, colonization, war and imperialism that fundamentally violate human rights and the rights of nature,” the NFU said.

“We especially denounce the inhumane free market logic that is enabling the on-going genocide in Gaza, as arms continue to be supplied and food continues to be used as a weapon of war. 

“We also see how this unjust trade regime is being used by the United States government, under the Canada-US-Mexico trade agreement (CUSMA), with support from Canada, to challenge Mexico’s restrictions on the use of genetically modified (GM) corn (maize)— a staple of the Mexican diet that is central to Mexican culture, history and identity, and integral to Indigenous food sovereignty and spirituality.” 

German company buys Stratford dairy show

 

DLG (German Agricultural Society) has bought Underhill Enterprises Inc. which runs the Canadian Dairy XPO at Stratford every spring.

DLG said the Stratford show is the leading exhibition for the Canadian dairy industry, although the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair might contest that claim.

The German company is forming a new subsidiary, DLG North America, that will be based in Toronto.

The management team of Underhill Enterprises Inc. will

now work for DLG North America, including its founder, Jordon Underhill. 

The company said “a key aim . . . is to further knowledge among farmers primarily through international networking platforms like

Canadian Dairy XPO, an essential part of the acquisition.

It said it wants to “bridge the gap between North America and Europe and “will be adding not only its agricultural know-how and international networks but also its exhibition expertise, drawing on its 30 agricultural trade fairs worldwide, including EuroTier, the world’s leading trade fair for livestock technologies held in Germany.”

Another $3.5 million for innovation

The federal and Ontario governments are adding $3.5 million to a fund for innovation.

It has already funded more than 100 projects, 67 of them for applied research and pilot and demonstration projects and 10 for commercialization projects.

More than 30 of them are receiving mentoring through the Ontario Accelerator Hub.

The money is in the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative.

The initial applications opened in October last year with $16.5 million and among projects funded is one for biosecurity for hog and poultry farms, another to detect contamination at food processing plants and large farms and one to improve data management on dairy farms.

Global food prices inched down

 

The United Nations’ food price index, calculated by the Food and Agriculture Organization, stood at 120.7 points in August, marginally down from its revised figure for July, as decreases in the price indices for sugar, meat and cereals outweighed increases in those for vegetable oils and dairy products. 

Compared to historical levels, the index in August averaged 1.1 percent lower than its corresponding value one year ago and 24.7 percent below its peak of 160.3 points reached in March 2022.

But not if you buy your groceries at Loblaws, Sobey's or Metro.

Brantford man gets rabies

 

A Brantford man has been infected with rabies, likely from a bat while he was in Temiskaming.

It is the first case in Ontario since 1967 and the first ever in Brant County.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported 24 bats in Ontario have been determined to be infected with rabies so far this year.