Wonder Brands recalls bread, buns

Wonder Brands Inc. is recalling a number of breads and buns because they may contain metal shards.

The 37 products under recall include Country Harvest, D'Italiano, Great Value, No Name and Wonder.

In a related recall, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said pieces of metal were found in salt from Compass Minerals Canada Corp.

Giant Tiger posted a recall of 16 Wonder Brands Inc. products and Costco posted a recall on its wholesale site on Oct. 29 for certain Wonder Brands Inc. products.

 Costco cited Compass Minerals’ salt as the reason for its recall.

Why has CFIA failed to issue recalls of breads and buns and perhaps other products containing Compass Minerals salt?

Feds win cherry patent case

 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has won a cherry-tree patent case in a United States federal court in Washington State.

The court ruled that a variety being sold as Glory is in fact Staccato, a variety developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food scientists at Summerland, British Columia.

Summerland Varieties Corp. holds exclusive rights to Staccato.

Gordon Goodwin, a grower who is also a pastor, said the Staccato cherry tree he grew was a gift from God and he patented it as Glory and licenced it to Van Well Nursery who marketed trees through Monson Fruit Co.

But genetic evidence proved Glory was in fact Staccato and was from a test plot that included another Summerland-developed variety called Sonata.

Having proven that Glory is Staccato, AAFC plans to pursue claims against Van Well, Goodwin and Monson for conversion, the unlawful possession and use of Staccato plant material for their own purposes, as well as false advertising and business interference, reported Country Life in B.C. magazine.

Staccato plant material and fruit are tightly controlled under a business arrangement between AAFC, SVC, and Stemilt Growers, the sole authorised U.S. packer and marketer of Staccato cherries.

Greenhouse growers select research head

 

The Ontario Greenhouse Growers marketing board has appointed
Daniel Terlizzese its lead for research, innovation and plant protection.

He has managed greenhouse crop growth and plant physiological measurements for the federal agriculture department and has designed research trials to improve crop production for Great Lakes Greenhouses.

His recent position as an Agronomist at Sollum Technologies involved enhancing crop growth and yield through dynamic LED lighting and collaborating on novel research projects.

He holds two science degrees from the University of Guelph.

The marketing board more than 170 members with more 4,100 acres growing peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers.

PDCoV in Waterloo

 

 

There has been an outbreak of Porcine Delta Coronavius in a farrow-to-wean facility in the Waterloo Region, reports Swine Health Ontario.

Chatham-Kent approves backyard chickens

Chatham-Kent council has voted to allow a two-year trial allowing up to ten backyard chickens per property in rural and village settings.

A couple of councillors raised concerns about avian influeza carried by migrating waterfowl and an outbreak that would result in quarantine zones affecting commercial poultry producers.

Hog farmers remain cautious

Despite good news, hog farmers remain reluctant to expand production, reports Rabobank.

The good news is that pork consumption is increasing and feed and energy costs and inflation are declining.

Continuing trade issues, disease outbreaks in specific markets and potential local production shortfalls in Asia, South America and northern Mexico are prompting some producers to reconsider their rebuilding plans in the fourth quarter, the report said.

With the global sow herd holding steady in the third quarter of 2024, producers are responding to disease outbreaks in the European Union, South Korea and Russia. 

That factor alone limited herd rebuilding in the second half of the year despite biosecurity measures that allowed China to look forward to a return to herd growth in 2025, the report said.

OECD urges research instead of subsidies

 

Agriculture subsidies have declined since 2021 but remain near historic highs and are still not sufficiently directed at critical innovation, productivity and sustainability goals, according to a new report from the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).

A measure of farm subsidies across 54 countries, shows that total support at $1.2 billion per year during the 2021-23 period.

Support remains concentrated in a few large economies, with China at 37 per cent, the United States at 15 per cent, India at 14 per cent and the European Union at 13 per cent.

The share of estimated support dedicated to general services such as innovation, biosecurity or infrastructure averaged only 12.6 per cent of total support in 2021-23, down from 16 per cent a few years ago.

“Government efforts towards sustainable productivity growth in agriculture are a positive step forward, and can help to future-proof the sector,”said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann.

“However, overall levels of farm subsidies remain high, and much of it is counter-productive to these key objectives. Smart reforms are the key to further progress.” 

To encourage innovation, governments are developing strategies and frameworks, investing in research and development, strengthening institutions, enhancing agricultural knowledge as well as innovation systems, and providing targeted incentives to producers to develop and adopt new production methods. 

Reorienting support could benefit such efforts, the report said.

Inflation is easing

 

Inflation has eased to 4.4 per cent in countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It was 4.7 per cent in August.

Inflation declined in 27 of 38 OECD countries, rose in six, and was stable or broadly stable in five. It was 49 per cent in Turkey.

Despite the recent slowdown in OECD headline inflation, average price levels across the OECD as a whole were approximately 30 per cent higher in September, 2024, than they were in December, 2019, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canada’s September inflation rate was 1.6 per cent.

Grain exports take another hit

 

Grain and meat exports from the West Coast are taking another hit because the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) locked out a union of more than 700 foremen.

Strikes have undermined Canada’s reputation as a reliable supplier.

The union and employers have been bargaining since March.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is asking the Canadian government to get involved and help settle the dispute.

Before the Grain Workers union went on strike in September, Grain Farmers of Canada asked the federal government and Minister of Labour, Steven MacKinnon, to use all tools available to them to ensure parties reach an agreement before a work stoppage occurs. 

“Without intervention, Canada’s international trading reputation will continue to suffer, leading to the loss of key global markets.

The strike ended with a Sept. 29 four-year contract.

Jason Esme wins sheep award

 

Jason Esme is this year’s winner of the Emerging Leader award from Sheep Fsrmers of Ontario marketing board.

He is the fourth generation to run Oak Generation farm near Elmwood and has been chairman of District Two (Grey-Bruce), a willing volunteer, a showman and judge and active at the local, provincial and national levels of sheep organizations.

 

Oregon pig flu from birds

The avian flu found in a backyard hog in Oregon appears to be a strain of H5N1 contracted directly from wild birds, rather than the strain that crossing over from birds to dairy cattle, according to top officials of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Meanwhile, Utah has confirmed its first outbreak in dairy cattle, with infections discovered on eight farms in Cache County. 

The appearance followed the culling in early October of the entire flock of 1.8 million chickens after the virus was discovered on an Utah poultry facility for the first time since 2022.

The Fraser Valley in British Columbia has had outbreaks in commercial poultry farms almost daily for the last week. Chilliwack and Abbotsford have been particularly hard hit.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a press conference that the Oregon case, which was the first crossover discovered in pigs of the ongoing avian flu “was a result of wild birds.” 

The Oregon farm was non-commercial facility with small livestock and poultry of half a dozen species.

Farm & Food Care wins award

 Farm & Food Care Ontario has won the Ministers Award in the Excellence in Agriculture awards program organized by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.

It was recognized for developing partnerships “to help raise awareness about food and farming in Ontario” and for fostering “meaningful connections through marketing campaigns and resources including The Real Dirt on Farming (publication), while hosting farm tours and events such as Breakfast on the Farm.” 

It also trains people who educate the public about farming.

“The board and staff of Farm & Food Care Ontario are delighted to be receiving this award from the province,” said Crispin Colvin, chair of Farm & Food Care Ontario. “Our work with farmers and food partners helps to reinforce trust and confidence in local farming and food production. This benefits us all. It is so rewarding to see the important work we do supported by our government partners.”

The complete list of winners is:

Research and Innovation Excellence: Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute, Brock University – Niagara.

Food Processing Excellence: Conestoga Meats – Breslau.

Education Excellence: Foodpreneur Lab – Toronto.

Promotional Excellence: Bite of Brant – Brant Farm & Food Care Ontario.

Supply Chain Excellence: Second Harvest – Toronto.

Workforce Excellence: Operation Grow – Simcoe.

Urban Agriculture Excellence: ZipGrow Inc. – Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.

Northern Business Excellence: Bujold Farms – Rainy River.

Women’s Excellence: Jenny Carnaghan, Carncroft Farms – Durham.

Youth Excellence:Beck’s Broth – Waterloo.

Farm Family Excellence - North: ELD Farms – Kenora.

West: Schooley Orchards Ltd. & Apple Hill Lavender – Norfolk

Global grain stocks are shrinking

Why, if global grain stocks are shrinking, are Canadian prices for wheat, corn, canola and soybeans declining?

Al Mussel, Ted Bilyea and Douglas Hedley of AgriFood Economic Systems say it’s mainly because Canadian prices are tied to the United States. 

Mussel said corn exports from the U.S. were down in 2023. Meanwhile, corn exports of the other major exporters have increased markedly - between 2014-2023 corn exports from Brazil almost tripled; corn exports from Argentina more than doubled, and Ukraine corn exports almost doubled between 2014-2019 before decreasing to a steady level ranging around 25 million tonnes.

Moreover, U.S. corn exports are increasingly staying close to

home in Mexico and Canada.

The combined share of Canada and Mexico now take 47 per cent of U.S. corn exports.

Early in the previous decade, the U.S. was vying with Brazil as the largest soybean exporter. Since then, U.S. soybean exports have ranged around 50 million tonnes while Brazil’s soybean have roughly doubled to more than 100 million tonnes.

But the U.S. soybean crush increased to a record, soybean oil exports are decreasing and soybean meal exports are increasing.

The reason is rapidly increasing demand for fats and

oils in manufacturing renewable fuels, especially renewable

diesel.

During the past few years, the United States has jumped

from accounting for 50-60 percent of Canadian canola oil

exports to 91 percent in 2023. 

Canola oil supplies should remain robust as Canada announced plans to expand crush capacities in the next several years.

In other words, U.S. renewable policy is diverting Canadian

canola from more consumer-oriented growing export

markets, tying Canadian prices to the U.S. market.

Yet the report ends by saying “if we are entering a

strong trend toward a period of greater global scarcity,

as multiple indicators suggest, then as one of the few

surplus producers and major net exporters of agri-food

products, this is an important issue for Canada- and the

wider world.”

                           

 

For the first time in history, supply management is reducing the price of milk by 2.37 cents a litre, effective Jan. 1.

Prices are governed by a cost-of-production formula and the Canadian Consumer Price index.

‘This price is only for milk used to make butter cheese and othee products.

The province oversees prices provincial marketing boards set for fluid milk which consumers buy a fresh milk.

That price has also never gone down,

At least twice, milk marketing boards have lobbied for changes in the pricing formulas to avoid reductions. In the case of the two types of milk, the Consumer Price Index was brought into the formula.