Food price inflation easing

While prices for food purchased from stores continue to increase, the index grew at a slower pace year over year in April than in March, reports Statistics Canada.

In March the food inflation rate was 2.9 per cent and in April 1.4 per cent.

Meat contributed the most to slower price growth, largely due to a base-year effect in prices for fresh or frozen beef, which were up by 4.4 per cent,  

Other contributors to the slowdown in grocery prices were bakery and cereal products, up by two-tenths of a per cent, fruit, fruit preparations and nuts , up by eight-tenths of a per cent.

Since April 2021, food prices at supermarkets increased by 21.4 per cent.

 

Chart 3 
Mostly decelerations and declines in prices for grocery items

Price growth for food purchased from restaurants also eased on a yearly basis, rising by 4.3 per cent in April 2024 following a 5.1 per cent increase in March. 

Food is the second-largest major Consumer Price Index (CPI) component. Based on 2022 expenditures, Canadians spent 16.65 per cent of their household budget to food purchases, with food purchased from stores accounting for 11.04 per cent of household budgets. 

Grocery prices are mostly captured using scanner data, also known as point-of-sale data, received directly from grocery retailers. 

Scanner data are the highest quality price data available and the gold standard for price collection. They track actual prices paid by Canadians at the till, including sales, promotions and quantity details.

The overall inflation rate in April was 2.7 per cent, down from 3.9 in March. Gasoline prices rose by eight per cent.

                  

 

Pelleting hog feed improves digestibility

Pelleting corn-based hog rations increases digestibility, according to research at the University of Illinois.

But so, too, does decreasing particle size in regular meal rations. In fact, small particle size was more beneficial than pelleting.

The research team compared results from six different hog rations. They compared three different particle sizes and pelleted or meal rations.

PED hits two nursery barns

 

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea has broken out at two nursery barns, one in Huron County, the other in Wellington County.

The disease often has a high mortality rate among piglets.

There have been 17 PED outbreaks since the beginning of April.

Feds invest $9.6 million in hog preparedness

 

The federal agriculture department is investing almost $9.6 million to help the hog industry prepare for an outbreak of African Swine Fever, announced Francis Drouin, parliamentary secretary to Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay.

Some of it is for a new device that can provide on-farm testing for the virus. The Canadian Pork Council worked with McMaster University to develop the ASFMeter which is portable and can conduct a test at low cost.

Other projects include improving biosecurity, managing wild pig activities, retrofitting abattoirs, regional depopulation plans and sector analysis and education programs, Drouin said.

René Roy, chairman of the Canadian Pork Council, said the collaboration with McMaster and the federal agriculture department “brings together expertise in research and technology, ensuring that the ASFMeter meets the rigorous standards required for rapid and accurate ASF detection.”

Sweda changes lawyers again

 

Sweda Farms Ltd., owned by Svante Lind of Blackstock, has changed its legal firm again to pursue its lawsuit against L.H. Gray and Son Ltd. and the Egg Farmers of Ontario marketing board.

The new one is Wagner Sidlofsky. The previous one was Blaney McMurtry and before that Donald Good.

The original lawsuit, which included Burnbrae Farms Ltd., was filed in 2008.

In a nutshell, Lind believes that the two dominant egg-grading companies, which account for about 90 per cent of Ontario’s eggs, conspired with the egg board to drive his egg-grading station out of business.

The egg board claimed Lind’s egg-grading business was cheating it out of levies which apply only to Grade A eggs by culling out a larger percentage of eggs than the provincial average.

Lind countered that the two were including cracked eggs in their Grade As, an allegation that Ontario Farmer confirmed by obtaining the results of random sample testing by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Lind also claimed that e-mails between Gray and Burnbrae indicated they colluded over market shares and pricing.

All three defendants have denied any wrongdoing and Burnbrae has been dismissed from the lawsuit after Good failed to demand Burnbrae furnish documents to match e-mails to and from Gray.

The judge ruled that meant there was insufficient evidence against Burnbrae.

Lone Star restaurant signs on with Corn Fed Beef

 

Lone Star Texas Grill in Ottawa is offering Ontario Corn Fed Beef at its 23 restaurants in Ontario.

The chain was started kin 1986 by two football players from Texas who came to like living in Ottawa.

It serves Tex-Mex dishes with an emphasis on beef.

“The partnership with Ontario Beef is an important one,” said Lyndon O’Hearn, director purchasing for Lone Star. 

“As an Ontario company, we wanted to connect with Ontario beef farmers to bring high quality locally produced Ontario beef to our menu. 

“The consistent great taste of Ontario Corn Fed Beef aligns well with our commitment to quality.”

Politically correct burger flops

 

A politically correct hamburger is not selling well in Australia.

Grill’d, a retailer with 61 stores, has found little public enthusiasm for its low-methane beef, so it cutting off supplies to all but seven of its stores.

Those seven are located in “environmentally-aware” communities., the company said.

A Grill’d executive told Australian industry news site Beef Central that the burgers would now be priced the same as standard beef versions. They were charging $1 extra for the Gamechanger burgers.

The company said the Gamechanger is made from cattle belching and farting two-thirds less climate-changing methane. Grill’d called it “the world’s first all-natural sustainable beef burger” when rolling out the sandwiches in January 2023.

The company sources its Gamechanger hamburger from Angus herds raised on grass and fed seaweed pellets to lower methane gas emissions.

Grill’d also markets vegetarian  burgers, chicken sandwiches, wagyu beef and lamb burgers. 

The company has a history of short-lived sustainability experiments, including an entirely plant-based menu at a few locations, and a no-meat menu once a week, Meat Central reported.

Milk trucker banned

 

A milk trucker for S.D.& G. Milk Transporter Ltd. is banned from picking up milk from Sandy Lane Farms Inc. of RR 1, Berwick.

The company agreed to ban the employee who repeatedly clashed with Ronald Van Loon, owner of Sandy Lane.

But the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal did not agree with Van Loon’s request to have S.D.& G. banned from picking up milk at Sandy Lane.

Eating meat is a health risk, study finds

Harvard University researchers have published a study saying people who eat processed meats risk an early death.

The study published in the British Medical Journal is based on dietary data from more than 100,000 clients of health professionals in the United States, clients without a history of major illnesses. 

They categorized diets into four groups: unprocessed, minimally processed, processed and “ultra-processed foods.”

Participants reported their lifestyle habits and health every two years over a 30-year span.

While “ultra-processed foods” showed a four per cent increase in mortality risk, not all categories within the group had the same effect. Whole grain “ultra-processed foods” didn't pose the same risks as sugary beverages or processed meats, the study showed.

The study also found associations between “ultra-processed foods” and organ-specific causes of death, including an ab eight per cent increase in the risk of death from brain diseases such as dementia.

Loblaws signs on to code – kind of

 

Loblaws has finally signed on to the voluntary industry code of practice, but said it’s participation is contingent on all player signing on.

Walmart and Costco remain holdouts.

The code has been three years in the making and is basically a restraint on the bullying the large supermarket chains have practiced in dealings with suppliers.

The one that got a lot of attention was a discount on suppliers’ invoices in 2020.

There are, however, more than 200 discounts, rebates and allowances the big chains impose on suppliers, such as a discount for a percentage of canned goods for dents, whether or not there actually are dented cans, charges for placing goods at eye level and at the end of aisles, for stickers on grab attention along aisles and for providing warehouse space for new products or new sizes for familiar products.

Saputo stepping aside

Lino Saputo Jr. is leaving his chief executive officer role in August. He has held the position for more than 20 years, taking over from his father.

His grandfather, Giuseppe, founded the cheese business in Montreal in 1954. It is now a global dairy processing company.

Carl Colizza, the current president and chief operating officer of Saputo’s North America business division, will be the new president and chief executive officer. He has been with Saputo since1998.

Saputo Jr., who transitioned to chief executive officer in 2004 and then also became president in 2022, said his “role will shift into a new capacity more focused on strategic oversight” in support of the company’s management team.

B.C. mink owners lose court case

Five mink farm owners have lost a lawsuit they brought against the provincial government which ordered their avian-flu-infected animals destroyed.

The province shut them down in November, 2021, in the midst of a devastating round of highly-pathogenic avian influenza in poultry flocks.

B.C.is the only jurisdiction in North America to shut down an entire farm sector.

 The province, former agriculture minister Lana Popham, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and former chief veterinarian Dr. Rayna Gunvaldsen were named in suits launched by each of the five farms: C&A Mink Ranch Ltd., Dargatz Mink Ranch Ltd., Dogwood Fur Farms Ltd., Engerbretson Fur Farm Ltd. and Williams Fur Farm Ltd.

The five lawsuits each alleged “misfeasance in public office and constructive taking” by the defendants, allegations which Justice Amy Francis said are flawed.

Francis ruled that “the plaintiffs have failed to plead facts capable of establishing that any of the defendants acted unlawfully” and further that “the claim of constructive taking is fundamentally flawed.”

Francis said that the enactment of the order in council shutting down mink farming in the province, even if “for political reasons rather than public health reasons” is not unlawful.

The Canada Mink Breeders Association and British Columbia Mink Producers Association also lost their challenges.

CFIA approves ground beef from Paraguay

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced it has approved Paraguay to ship pH matured boneless beef to the Canadian market.

The e-mail from the CFIA also indicates that the status for Puerto Rico and Switzerland is under review.

Another PED outbreak

There has been another outbreak of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus in Middlesex County.

This time the virus hit a farrow-to-finish operation.

Since May 8, there have been four outbreaks, three of them in Middlesex and one in Oxford county.

There’s still money on the table

 

The federal and Ontario governments said there is still money available to applicants for the Grow Ontario Market Initiative.

The $12-million, five-year, program launched last year.

The Grow Ontario Market Initiative supports primary producers, food processors and

industry organizations with cost-share funding to help them undertake market analysis and planning, new product development and marketing.

“Our hardworking farmers and food processors produce the best products in the world,”

said the federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay.

 

“With this funding through the Grow Ontario Market Initiative, we’re helping them promote their top-quality products and establish new markets here in Canada and around the world.”

Ontario Agriculture Minister Lisa Thompson said our government is steadfast in our commitment to the goals set out in ur Grow Ontario Strategy – including growing the province’s agriculture and food exports by eight percent annually.”

CFIA issues avian flu guidance to cattle vets

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has posted a set of guidelines for cattle veterinarians to handle cases of suspected infection with highly-pathogenic avian influenza.

It says symptoms are a drop in milk production and milk that has the consistency of colostrum.

Vets are to collect either milk samples or nasal swabs and submit the samples to an accredited laboratory for diagnosis.

They must report any cases to the CFIA.

Feds provide $5.7 million for plant breeding

The federal government is providing $5.7 million for research on soybeans, corn and oats, most of it to breed improved varieties.

Industry will be adding its support to bring the total to $10.5 million over the next five years.

Federal MP Lloyd Longfield made the announcement at Woodrill Farms Ltd. which is in his riding at Guelph.

“The research is going to include developing new varieties that meet the quality demands of processors and consumers and new short-season soybean varieties,” Longfield said.

 “Activities will also explore how diverse crop rotations can play a central role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and how better genetics, land management and fertilizer use can improve nitrogen use efficiency to protect the environment.”

 

Josh Cowan, vice-president of the Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance, said five research initiatives have already been vetted, approved and collaborated with institutions across Canada and several stakeholders from seed to processing.

 

Worker insurance claims under review

 

 

The Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is taking another look at 50 claims filed by temporary foreign workers employed on farms.

President Jeff Lang also announced changes will be made for injured workers who are unable to return to their jobs.

The WSIB pays workers 85 per cent of their salary if they are hurt on the job and unable to return to that role, but claws back money that is earned from other work.

Lang says that is not fair because migrant workers who return home after injury usually earn far less in their countries than if they worked the same job in Ontario full time.

Lang says he is sorry for what he called the province's unfair treatment of injured migrant workers.

"These are some of the most vulnerable people, they came to work in Ontario, they got hurt, they got sent back to their home countries, and they got dinged for not being from Ontario," Lang told The Canadian Press.

"And quite frankly, that's just wrong, so we're going to make it right."

The announcement follows an appeal tribunal ruling that the board mistreated four claimants.

                           

Commission calls for regulation changes for veggie board

 

 

The government has posted a list of changes the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Council wants to implement for the Ontario Processing Vegetable marketing board and processors.

The proposed changes would:

• Provide flexibility for tomato / carrot processors and their associated producers to determine whether they need a Commission representative to hold the vote or votes at annual meetings prior to negotiations. 

• Provide for joint negotiating agencies if more than one tomato or carrot processor and their associated producers are in favour of establishing a single negotiating agency.

• Change the composition of negotiating agencies for the tomato and carrot sectors, which may include: 
o Removing the ability of processors to appoint producer members to negotiating agencies; and 
o Increasing the number of producer members on negotiating agencies to provide for a more balanced representation.

• Increase the producer participation thresholds that would mandate producer meetings where producers of a regulated commodity determine whether to:
o Accept their processor's final negotiated offer; or
o Proceed to arbitration.

• Provide clarity around the term "final negotiated offer" in the regulation.

• Provide flexibility for all negotiating agencies to appoint conciliators at any time prior to the deadline for completing negotiations.

• Require the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission to appoint an arbitrator only if a negotiating agency fails to appoint one.

The Commission will also revoke outdated provisions in the regulation.

The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission is also proposing amendments to Regulation 441: Vegetables for Processing - Plan under the Farm Products Marketing Act. The amendments, if made, would:

• Allow Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers' vice-chair(s) to act as chair in cases of unforeseen absence of the Commission-appointed chair.

• Provide for in-person voting in board elections (in addition to mail and electronic voting).

• Allow parameters governing the nomination process, ballot counting, and election records to be set by the board similar to other marketing organizations by removing these aspects from regulations. 

The Commission is also proposing to revoke the following regulations under the Farm Products Marketing Act as they are no longer applicable.

• Ontario Regulation 59/17: Vegetables for Processing - Negotiating Agencies and Specified Negotiation Deadlines in 2017

• Ontario Regulation 22/19: Vegetables for Processing - Extending 2019 Negotiation Deadlines.

 

 

 

 

Niagara Escarpment regulations proposed

 

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry wants to change regulations for the Niagara Escarpment protected areas.

For farmers, the proposals would allow:

• Installation of a farm entrance to an agricultural property from a road.
• Elminate minimum agricultural lot size to convert structures from one type of farming use to another.
• Allow construction of a structure accessory to agricultural development, other than a dwelling
• Allow installation of a single, permanent farm produce structure to sell local products.
• 
  

There are a number of other proposed changes for residential, institutional and government-owned lands.

Commission calls for regulation changes for veggie board

 

 

The government has posted a list of changes the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Council wants to implement for the Ontario Processing Vegetable marketing board and processors.

The proposed changes would:

• Provide flexibility for tomato / carrot processors and their associated producers to determine whether they need a Commission representative to hold the vote or votes at annual meetings prior to negotiations. 

• Provide for joint negotiating agencies if more than one tomato or carrot processor and their associated producers are in favour of establishing a single negotiating agency.

• Change the composition of negotiating agencies for the tomato and carrot sectors, which may include: 
o Removing the ability of processors to appoint producer members to negotiating agencies; and 
o Increasing the number of producer members on negotiating agencies to provide for a more balanced representation.

• Increase the producer participation thresholds that would mandate producer meetings where producers of a regulated commodity determine whether to:
o Accept their processor's final negotiated offer; or
o Proceed to arbitration.

• Provide clarity around the term "final negotiated offer" in the regulation.

• Provide flexibility for all negotiating agencies to appoint conciliators at any time prior to the deadline for completing negotiations.

• Require the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission to appoint an arbitrator only if a negotiating agency fails to appoint one.

The Commission will also revoke outdated provisions in the regulation.

The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission is also proposing amendments to Regulation 441: Vegetables for Processing - Plan under the Farm Products Marketing Act. The amendments, if made, would:

• Allow Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers' vice-chair(s) to act as chair in cases of unforeseen absence of the Commission-appointed chair.

• Provide for in-person voting in board elections (in addition to mail and electronic voting).

• Allow parameters governing the nomination process, ballot counting, and election records to be set by the board similar to other marketing organizations by removing these aspects from regulations. 

The Commission is also proposing to revoke the following regulations under the Farm Products Marketing Act as they are no longer applicable.

• Ontario Regulation 59/17: Vegetables for Processing - Negotiating Agencies and Specified Negotiation Deadlines in 2017

• Ontario Regulation 22/19: Vegetables for Processing - Extending 2019 Negotiation Deadlines.

                           

 

 

 

 

Pig kidney transplant recipient died

 

 

Richard Slayman, the Massachusetts man who was the first in the world to receive a kidney transplant from a pig, has died.

The 62-year-old of Weymouth underwent surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital on March 16, receiving a pig kidney with 69 genomic edits. He was released from Mass General on April 3 after weeks of recovery “with one of the cleanest bills of health I’ve had in a long time.”

Massachusetts General Hospital said in a statement that there is no indication Slayman's death was the result of his recipient transplant.

 

                           

FritoLay sunchips on recall

 

Frito Lay is recalling its Sunchips and Munchies because the supplier of its seasonings has detected salmonella food-poisoning bacteria in some of its product.

Frito Lay said its tests of the seasonings it bought have are okay, but initiated a recall as a precaution.

                        -30-

Greenhouses fingered for Lake Erie algae blooms

A detailed, documented report in The Narwhal magazines says nutritent-laced water from greenhouses is probably responsible for a resurgence of algae blooms in Lake Erie.

The blooms declined when municipalities invested in improved waste water treatment facilities and farmers adopted no-till and other soil conservation measures to reduce runoff nutrients.

But with more large greenhouses being built recently, algae blooms have returned, reported Matt McIntosh.

Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald, said the greenhouse pollution is real and is frustrated that the provincial government is doing so little to help. 

She said called the lack of action inexcusable. 

“Don’t tell me it’s just a few bad apples. Those bad apples are big bad apples and they’re ruining the whole bin,” MacDonald said. “We’re holding [the Environment Ministry’s] feet to the fire. They’re the ones who have fallen down on the job. Testing? That’s their job. Where the hell are they?”

The provincial government’s online report on enforcement said the highest was $62,500 in fines handed out to Kapital Produce in Windsor in April 2022 for mixing greenhouse water and stormwater. The ministry’s court bulletin said the levels of phosphorus were up to 40 times greater than the limit of 0.5 milligrams per litre specified in the company’s environmental compliance approval, a permit required to operate.

The ministry site listed only three other convictions in the region since 2019, resulting in a fine of $6,500 for Cielo Vista Farms for not maintaining proper logs of stormwater pond inspections; $31,250 charged to Golden Acres Farms for having over-limit phosphorus levels in a stormwater collection pond that discharges into a drain that leads to Lake Erie; and $50,000 imposed on Nature Fresh Farms for allowing greenhouse water to flow into Leamington’s Bailey Drain. All of the convictions listed on the ministry site were at operations that grow vegetables. None are for greenhouses growing cannabis and not all of them are within the four corners of cannabis-production laws. 

 

Of 32 outfall locations at different greenhouses, 21 were found to have high levels of nitrates or phosphorus — indicative of nutrient water or process water from greenhouse production getting into municipal streams. Sturgeon Creek was found to have phosphorus concentrations nearing seven milligrams per litre. The provincial limit for a healthy waterway is 0.03 milligrams per litre. Nearby Lebo Drain was not much better. 

The 2012 report categorized Sturgeon Creek and Lebo Drain as “the most polluted in the province of Ontario with respect to phosphorus and nitrate.” It concluded the ministry could not support further greenhouse development in either watershed “without appropriate treatment technology in place.”

No enforcement or fines are listed on the public record.

 

The nutrient-loading problem, similarly, has only become more acute. An August 2023 report by a team at the Essex Region Conservation Authority revealed that phosphorus loading in Leamington tributaries now ranges from 2.9 to 6.0 milligrams per litre, or 100 to 200 times greater than the provincial target. 

With more than a decade of collected data, the report found “year over year, nutrient concentrations continue to be strikingly higher in greenhouse streams than non-greenhouse streams.” 

“With greenhouse agriculture continuing to expand in this area, and elsewhere in the Great Lakes Basin, it is essential that we take heed of this canary in the coal mine,” the report said. 

The lead author of the report said what’s most concerning is the apparent significant leakage from what should be totally enclosed, state-of-the-art, brand-new greenhouse constructions. 

Regulations around the disposal of effluent water — water used in the production of crops — do recyle nutrients and besides reducing phosphorous pollution that nourish algae blooms also reduce growing costs.

                                                      -30-

 

 

Hot dogs getting attention

 Hot dogs are getting a lot of attention.

In Quebec, Lafleur sausage-making company is getting a boost from comedian Matthieu Dufour who is promoting steaming instead of grilling wieners.

The company hopes to make steaming popular not only in Montreal where about a third are steamed, but also across Canada.

And Oscar Mayer, the leading wiener producer in the United States, is introducing ones that have new interiors, such as cheese, jalapeno cheddar or chili cheese.

And at Roger’s Centre in Toronto, Maple Leaf Foods is famous for offering Schneider’s hot dogs for $1 during Blue Jays games.

Chicken growers sue over collusion

 A federal judge in Oklahoma has granted more than 2,400 chicken producers class-action lawsuit status in a case against Pilgrim’s Pride and 20 other companies.

The growers say Pilgrim’s and other chicken-industry integrators conspired since 2008 to suppress grower pay through agreements such as the No-Poach Agreement (NPA) and the Information Sharing Agreement (ISA). 

No poaching means growers can’t switch buyers.

Information sharing meant integrators could get growers’ history of dealings with their processor. 

According to a documentary, Super Size Me by Martin Spurlock, the integrators give growers a score and downgrade those who raise objections so their returns, which are linked to the scores, are reduced. In the documentary, a grower who co-operated on the project had his score knocked down from top to bottom.

 

In January 2023, Sanderson Farms reached an agreement with eight defendants.

Tyson Foods, Pilgrim’s Pride, Perdue Farms and Koch Foods were also named in lawsuit. In 2021, Tyson and Perdue Farms settled for $21 million and $14.75 million, respectively. In May, Koch Foods settled with growers for $15.5 million.

The case against Pilgrim’s Pride is still open.

                           

 

.

 

PCDoV case in Oxford

 

Swine Health Ontario reports there has been an outbreak of Porcine Deltacoronavirus in Oxford County.

It is in a finisher facility.

PED hits Middlesex farm

 

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus has infected a farrow-to-finish hog operation in Middlesex County this week.

It is the 10^th outbreak since April 1.

Pig gene identified for disease resilience

 

An international team of scientists has identified a gene that identifies pigs with greater disease resilience.

The team includes scientists from Iowa State University, the Universities of Saskatchewan and Alberta and CDPQ, with funding from PigGen Canada, Genome Alberta, Genome Prairie and the U.S. Department of Agriculture,.

They are measuring the levels of stress hormones in the hair of pigs to evaluate the effect of stress on disease resilience. 

Dr. Jack Dekkers, a distinguished professor in the department of Animal Science at Iowa State University, said they have found that cortisol in hair has a heritability of about 25 percent.
If you look at growth rate in pigs, heritability is a little bit higher at about 35 percent so 25 percent is a pretty good heritability and that means that there are measures that breeding companies can select for, he said.

 We have also looked at some associations of cortisol levels in hair measured on the young healthy animals and their subsequent disease resilience and there are correlations we find there so there is an indication that cortisol levels in hair can be a predictor of whether an animal is more or less disease resilient, Dekkers said.

Interestingly for cortisol levels in hair, we find that it is affected by many genes that control growth rate. Same for cortisol levels but there is one gene that has a substantial effect, he said.

We call that a major gene. It explains about 40 percent of the genetic variation, the genetic differences. That’s a gene called a glucocorticoid receptor which is know to be associated with cortisol release and production. That gives us a single gene that the breeding companies may be able to select for.

Dekkers said animals that are less resistant to disease require more veterinary treatments increasing the danger of pathogens developing resistance to antibiotics.

Wellington internet project completed

 

 

Southwestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) said it has completed installation of fibre lines to a number of communities in Wellington County.

The federal and Ontario governments contributed $4.4 million to the project which brought the lines to 1,771 properties which can now hook on to high-speed internet service.

 They are in the communities of Brucedale, Centre Inn, Everton, Oustic, Simpson Corners, Shands, Spier, Belwood, Eramosa, Orton, and Maple Leaf Acres.

 

B.C. nixes dairy merger

The British Columbia Farm Industry Board has nixed a merger between the provincial milk marketing board and the B.C. Dairy Farmers Association.

The board regulates marketing; the association lobbies on behalf of dairy farmers.

FIRB chairman Peter Donkers wrote that “the fiduciary duty owed to both organizations makes it impossible for a reasonably informed member of the public to determine whether the executive director is making decisions or providing advice with a view to benefiting the industry interests represented by the BCDA (association), or in furtherance of sound marketing policy in the public interest for the BCMMB,(marketing board)” Donkers wrote in a letter to both organizations which have crafted a memorandum of understanding, but have not yet signed it.

Donkers ordered the marketing board to not sign it.

Farmers’ mood monitor plunged in April

 

Farmers were in a foul mood when Purdue University took its monthly survey of farm sentiments.

It lost 15 points to sit at 84, the lowest since June 2022.

Concerns about their farms’ current financial situation and expectations for weak financial performance in the year ahead were the driving forces behind the fall-off in farmer sentiment.

Hormel pays $4.8 million settlement

 

Hormel Foods has judicial approval for a $4.8-million settlement it reached with a group of its pork purchasers who sued for price-fixing.

The same judge is expected to rule soon on a $4.5-million settlement Hormel has negotiated with a consumer indirect purchaser class.

Judge John R. Tunheim, a federal court judge in Minnesota, consolidated 27 pork price-fixing cases involving 146 parties in December, 2022.

Chicken board moving to Guelph

 

The Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing board plans to move its offices from Burlington to Guelph next year.

It will move from 3320 South Service Rd., Burlington, to 197 Hanlon Creek Blvd. in Guelph.

 The decision was made by the board of directors because Guelph is a central hub for the Ontario agricultural community - and the relocation will enable CFO to be closer to government and industry stakeholders, the chicken board posted on its website.

General manager Denise Hockaday lives just inside the western border of Guelph.

Newfie dairy farmers launch co-op

 Dairy farmers in Newfoundland and Labrador are buying the Agropur plant at Mount Pearl as they launch a dairy co-operative with a $10 million loan from the province.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Dairy Co-operative will be the province’s only locally owned and operated milk processor, according to founding member Crosbie Williams. He called it a direct investment in the future of the industry, and in provincial food security.

“The farmers in our province now are going to own this industry. It’s a proud moment for us, it’s a proud moment for the industry, and it’s something that’s going to go down in our time as being historic for our industry,” said Williams.

Co-op president Scott Antle said plans for the group have been in the works for at least two years, and the catalyst for officially launching the co-op is the $10-million loan from the provincial government to help it buy Central Dairies from Agropur.