Steel tariffs hit farm machinery exports

The new 50 per cent United States tariffs on Canadian products that contain steel and aluminum are being applied to many pieces of farm machinery.

They do not apply to machinery made in the United States and being returned there.

Canadian-made machinery deemed compliant with the Canada-U.S-Mexico free trade agreement are also exempt.

But a tractor made in Europe or Asia would be hit by the tariffs.

For example, Mike Hahn of Hahn Farm Equipment said a $50,000 CIH 5240 would be taxed $7,500 because they are made in Germany.

The $7.500 tariff must be paid by the Canadian exporter who would presumably add it to the purchaser’s price.

Hahn said “in our experience so far . . . (that) prevents the sale. 

“The sad thing about these tariffs is that the end user is the person that loses. The middle-class working people pay more and the poorly-run governments and the rich people that control it make millions, NO WAIT BILLIONS !!!!” he wrote in an e-mail.

“The new steel tariffs and for that matter all tariffs are raising the price of all NEW products being sold. Especially to the farming industry which is facing underpriced commodities.”

He went on to say when farmers thrive, everyone benefits, but the reverse also applies.

Combine caught in Trump tariff

 

A combine that a custom operator in Calumet, Oklahoma bought used from a farmer in Saskatchwan can’t be delivered until a complex calculation on its steel content is completed.

That’s because the Trump administration expanded its 50 per cent tariff on Canadian steel to steel content in products such as stoves, refrigerators and, yes, also tractors and combines.

Ryan Sorrels said he needs the New Holland combine  made in Belgium, to finish up harvest for his customers, and he only uses walker combines because he doesn’t have time to swap concaves between jobs. He cannot use a rotor-based combine, he emphatically states multiple times in his social media post.

Sorrell is cautioning others to be careful when buying Canadian farm equipment.

Marini loses CFIA licence

 

Sausage maker Marini Foods Ltd. of North York is out of business because the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has suspended its licence for failure to meet food safety standards.

The company markets sausages under the Marini, Rea and Bona brand names.

Its Italian salami and prosciutto are distributed to all of Canada’s major supermarkets.

It can resume operations when the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is satisfied that it is in compliance with its regulations.

Pistachio recall broadens again

 

Another company that baked pistachios into its products has been hit with a recall because of potential salmonella contamination.

Public Health Canada said on its website that so far 62 consumers have fallen sick after eating products with pistachios.

The new recall is nine kinds of baclavas and one Knafeh Ashta made by Andolas bakery of Saint-Laurent, Que.

Identifying the agriculture giants

Fortune magazine ranks the 500 biggest companies by billions of dollars in sales, and this is the 2024 list for agriculture:

·       #50 Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) – $85B

·       #65 Merck – $65B

·       #72 Nationwide – $59B

·       #85 Tyson Foods – $53B

·       #89 John Deere – $52B

·       #115 CHS – $39B

·       #246 Corteva Agriscience – $17B

·       #262 Land O’Lakes – $16B

·       #296 Tractor Supply Co. – $15B

·       #364 AGCO – $14B

·       #378 The Andersons – $11B

·       #381 Mosaic – $11B

·       #439 Seaboard – $9B

·       #435 Zoetis – $9B

 

Major Companies Not on the Fortune 500 (Privately Held or Based Outside the U.S.)

·       Cargill – $160B

·       Koch Industries – $125B

·       Bunge – $53B

·       Boehringer Ingelheim – $31B

·       Syngenta – $29B

·       Bayer Crop Sciences – $26B

·       Nutrien – $26B

·       CNH Industrial – $20B

·       BASF Ag Solutions – $10B

                

 

New website to record wild boar sightings

 

Invasives Canada, Animal Health Canada and the Invasive Wild Pig Leadership Group have joined forces to launch at website calledd Wild Pigs Canada.

Farmers, hunters, hikers and the general public are encouraged to use the website for keeping up to date with information about wild pigs in Canada and to know what to do if one is sighted.

“Remember, people on the land and out in nature are our first line of defense against invasive species like wild pigs,” said Matt DeMille, executive director of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

Ontario ups ethanol in gasoline mandate

Ontario has upped the mandate for ethanol and biodiesel to more made from Canadian-grown crops.

It is likely to have the greatest impact on imports from the United States.

“We are introducing domestic content requirements under the Cleaner Transportation Fuels regulation mandating that at least 75 per cent of the renewable content required in diesel fuel and 64 per cent of the renewable content required in gasoline be produced in Canada.,” the government announced in a news release.

About a third of Ontario’s corn harvest is processed into ethanol.

Hensall Co-op shares its wealth

 Hensall Co-op is giving $10,000 to the Huron County Food Bank Distribution Centre in Exeter and $10,000 to ONE CARE Clinton and smaller donatioons to five other community organizations.

Huron County Food Bank Distribution Centre providse snacks to 34 schools with about 7,000 students in Huron and Perth Counties.

ONE CARE Home and Community Support Services in Clinton’s gift will go towards the Driven to Care – Vehicle Replacement campaign. ONE CARE provides accessible transportation for older adults and people in the rural community who experience health challenges

The others receiving donations are Clinton Public Hospital Foundation for an Esophageal Dilator, the Royal Canadian Legion in Hensall to build an accessibility ramp, the Royal Canadian Legion, in  Mitchell for kitchen renovations, Seaforth Community Hospital Foundation for a wound vacuum and Tiny Tater Childcare Cooperative in Carberry, Man., for a new childcare centre.

Long-term immigrants strike at cheese plant

Forty-three immigrant dairy workers have gone on strike against W&W Dairy in Monroe, Wisc. after being forced to verify their legal status through the federal government’s E-Verify system. 

Nearly all strikers are long-term Hispanic employees, many with decades of service, who demand severance compensation after what they see as discriminatory measures tied to federal anti-immigration policies. 

DaIry Farmers of America (DFA), which owns the company, is alleged to have threatened to bring in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and that escalated tensions.

W&W Dairy makes Hispanic-style cheeses and after Dairy Farmers of America recently bought it all workers were require3d to confirm their immigration status by Aug. 31.

About half of the workforce resigned immediately, but 43 employees refused, insisting on three weeks of severance pay per year worked. Workers denounce the move as intimidation, issuing a statement demanding respect for seniority, compensation, and protection from retaliation.

DFA has defended its actions, arguing that compliance with E-Verify is necessary under federal labor law and, in some cases, for federal contracts. 

However, immigrant advocates point out that E-Verify is voluntary for most employers and rife with errors that disproportionately harm Hispanic workers.

 Critics argue the system enables mass firings, racial profiling, and employer retaliation against those seeking better conditions or pay—making the Monroe dispute emblematic of broader challenges in the agricultural workforce.

Seems like Trump's troops shot themselves in the feet again,

Watchdog reports CFIA failed on Silk food poisonings

A federal investigation has found flaws in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s efforts to detect and prevent food-poisoning outbreaks, and specifically related to widespread Listeria illnesses among consumers of Silk company drinks made for Danone dairy company.

Inspector-General Scott Rattray said the agency has failed to meet its inspection targets and missed food-safety issues at 40 per cent of the 54 food-processing facilities his team checked.

Three of the sites investigated, or five per cent, “were found to have critical food safety issues that required an immediate response by CFIA inspection staff to protect public health,” Rattray’s report said.

The CFIA then suspended those licences, but did not post the suspensions on its website as it has done with other suspensions resulting from its own inspections. The Globe and Mail said the identities of those companies remains a CFIA secret.

Rattray found fault with the algorithm formula the CFIA uses to determine which facilities will be tested and how often. Significantly missing is consumer complaints about flawed products.

When Mark Holland was federal health minister last year he called for Rattray’s probe after three deaths and dozens of illnesses were linked to Listeria in Silk milk-sustitute products made for Danone at a contracted facility in Pickering.

Rattray’s team found that 26 of the 54 facilities it checked had never been visited by the CFIA, even though “the agency’s program direction requires that all domestic establishments be subject to an annual inspection.”

Nothing about CFIA incompetence surprises me.

New tool developed to detect E. coli

Dr. Carolyn Ren left, Alice Mao right

Enoki mushrooms under recall

Gangrongtai brand enoki mushrooms are under recall because the Canadian Food Inspection Agency found Listeria monocytogenes, a food-poisoning bacteria.

The agency said there have been no reports of sickened consumers linked to these mushrooms.

There have been a number of recalls this year of enoki mushrooms.

                          

FCC offers canola farmers more loans

 

Farm Credit Canada has announced it will offer canola growers an additional $500,000 worth of loans to help them through cash-flow challenges brought on by China’s crippling new tariff on canola seed.

China earlier placed heavy tariffs on canola oil from Canada.

Both tariffs are interpreted as responses to Canada’s imposition of a 100 per cent tariff on China-made electric vehicles.

“Our role is to ensure our customers, and the broader industry, have access to the capital and flexibility they need to adapt, stay competitive and keep delivering high-quality products to markets at home and abroad,” said FCC’s chief executive officer Justine Hendricks.

The FCC said existing customers may defer principal payments for up to 12 months.

NFU opposes immigration legislation

 The National Farmers Union has taken a stand against Bill C-2 which includes stiffer measures against migrant workers.

The Bill empowers the government to cancel, suspend, or change immigration documents including applications, work permits, or study permits under the pretext of an undefined “public interest,” the NFU said.

“Even the Liberal Minister of Justice reports in his Charter Analysis that the new powers to cancel or modify immigration documents could interfere with fundamental provisions for life, liberty, and security that are afforded to all migrants and refugees,” the NFU said in a news release.

 

The Bill also allows for the deportation of asylum-seeking refugees without a hearing if they entered Canada more than a year ago. Setting time limits on refugee hearings is considered a violation of international law, according to the Migrant Workers Network.

By limiting the time period for claim dates for refugees coming from the United States, the Strong Borders Act would increase the likelihood of their deportation back to the U.S. where they have been subject to extrajudicial policing and a campaign of terror. 

Undocumented farm workers in the U.S. have described being "hunted like animals"  by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the NFU said.

“The NFU is horrified by ICE’s treatment of migrant food producers in the United States. Apparently as an appeasement to Trump, this Bill threatens to make Canada complicit in the abuse of migrants both here and south of the border,” said NFU president Jenn Pfenning who is an organic farmer between New Hamburg and Baden, Ont.

 
The NFU has called for the repeal of the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) between Canada and the United States. Refugees should be able to transit between Canada and the U.S. or vice versa in the process of making their refugee claim, it said.

Farmers are concerned that the changes proposed by Bill C-2 will prevent migrants and refugees from building a stable life in Canada, the NFU said.

Vegans have lower risk of cancer

People who avoid meat and dairy products in their diets are 12 per cent less likely to get cancers, reports a new study of 80,000 Americans.

The study was done by researchers at Loma Linda University in California and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study compared vegans with people who ate meat and dairy products over an eight-year period and found the vegans has a 12 per cent overall risk of cancer.

The most notable overall reductions were in prostate, breast, colorectal, stomach and lymphoproliferative cancers.

                           

 

Grocery prices keep soaring

Grocery prices rose by 3.4 per cent in July, even more than the 2.8 per cent increase in June and much more than the overall inflation rate of 1.7 per cent for June.

There is nothing in the prices farmers receive that would justify that great an increase, other than the possible exception of beef.

Fresh fruit prices were up by 3.9 per cent and grapes by 30 per cent.

Gasoline prices were down by 16.1 per cent.

Ontario proposing beef checkoff hike

 

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Agribusiness and Food is proposing to approve an increase in the beef checkoff to support the national agency.

The increase requested by Beef Farmers of Ontario is from $1 to $2.50 per head.

That would raise about $1.2 million more per year for the Canadian Beef Checkoff Agency.

Hydro transmission lines proposed

 

The provincial government has posted three notices of its intention to approve upgrades in electricity transmission lines.

They are in Windsor-Lakeshore, Bowmanville to Toronto and the Greenstone transmission line in Northern Ontario.

Pork price-fixing cost $64 million

Judge John Tunheim of the U.S. District Court in Minnesota has approved $64 million in settlements for pork price-fixing.

He said the agreements are “fair, reasonable, and adequate,” citing extensive negotiations and years of litigation. 

Tyson Foods will pay $50 million, Clemens Group $10 million and Triumph Foods $4 million, all in U.S. dollars.

In Canadian dollars, the total is more than $88 million.

This settles only one of a number of lawsuits over pork price-fixing.

Pistachio & Knafeh Milk Chocolates are on recall because they might be contaminated with food-poisoning salmonella bacteria.

They were distributed in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia and sold online.

The English versions are Chocolate Flavours, Dubai and Vincent Selection pistachio and knafeh milk chocolates.

A food-poisoning outbreak led the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to test the products.

Pistachios have been implicated in product recalls back to December,

Agritourism Ontario partners with safety association

Agritourism Ontario is partnering with Workplace Safety & Prevention Services to educate employees, share information and oollaborate on events  and resource distribution.

Agritourism Ontario said it shares the goal of fostering a safer environment in its sector.

“The agritourism industry blends hospitality with agriculture, creating unique safety considerations for both workers and visitors,” said Kevin Vallier, chief executive officer for Agritourism Ontario.

“By working with WSPS, we’re equipping our members with the tools and knowledge they need to create safer experiences for everyone on the farm.” he said.

WSPS is a not-for-profit organization that serves more than 174,000 member firms and 4.2 million workers.

Canola industry calls for help

 The Canola Council of Canada is asking the federal government to limit imports of used vegetable oils as a way to help the Canadian industry.

This week China imposed a 75.8-per-cent tariff on Canadian canola seed, adding to its 100 per cent tariff on Canadian canola oil imposed in March.

After a one-year anti-dumping probe. China’s Ministry of Commerce argued that Canada’s canola sector has benefited from extensive government subsidies and preferential policies that distort markets. 

In 2024, 23 per cent of the feedstock used to create a key clean fuel – renewable diesel – was used cooking oil.

The used oil is classified as less carbon-intensive under Canada’s clean-fuel regulations than canola oil, driving producers to use the feedstock. 

Investigations from the United States and European Union suggest used cooking oil – largely sourced from Asia – might contain palm oil, a product tied to deforestation. 

Ottawa therefore needs to rethink how it treats imports of used vegetable oil, said Chris Davison, president and chief executive officer of the Canola Council of Canada. 

The timing has rarely been more pressing, said Chris Vervaet, executive director at the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association. 

A policy to curb imports of used cooking oil so canola seed could capture just half of the market would use 2.5 million tonnes of canola seed, 42 per cent of the total volume exported to China in 2024. 

“Used vegetable oil is really eating the lunch of the canola industry,” Mr. Vervaet said. “But we can be the masters of our own destiny.” 

The Clean Fuel Regulations came into force in 2023 and have driven substantial investment in the canola industry, Mr. Vervaet said.

There has been a boom in canola processing capacity since 2021. Richardson International Ltd., Cargill and Louis Dreyfus Co. have invested approximately $ 2 billion in canola crushing.

By 2026, Canada will have the crush capacity to process 75 per cent of the canola crop grown in the country, he said. The three newest plants alone will have the ability to process 3.5 million tonnes of canola seed, he said. 

Mon Père camembert under recall

Mon Père brand camembert is under recall because it might be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes food-poisoning bacteria.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said “this recall was triggered by a recall in another country.

“There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product in Canada.

                           

HPAI vaccine research side-swiped

 

The $500 million cut in United States vaccine research may side-swipe research on a vaccine to counter highly-pathogenic avian influenza that has resulted in the culling of millions of chickens and a spike in egg prices.

Officials are not yet entirely certain if the bird flu vaccine project has been cut, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, has  announced that mRNA vaccine development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) will “wind down,” immediately terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development programs.

Meanwhile, the poultry industry in Europe has begun to use vaccines to stop the spread of the deadly virus.

There are mixed opinions about whether a vaccine should replace flock culling to stop the disease from spreading in the Canadian and U.S. poultry industries.

Birds that have been vaccinated are difficult to distinguish from birds sick with the virus, so export markets might be lost if vaccination is permitted.

Canadian cattle face U.S. court challenge

Canadian cattle face a court challenge filed by ranchers in South Dakota who complain that when they are slaughtered in the United States, the beef can be labelled product of the U.S.A.

The ranchers have gained support from attorneys general in 11 states - Colorado, Kansas, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

The lawsuit is filed against JBS Foods, Tyson Foods, Cargill Meat Solutions and National Beef Packing Company, claiming they wrongly labeled imported beef as domestic.

The U.S. District Court of South Dakota sided with the ranchers, but the companies have appealed and that appeal will be held at the  8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Centre Wellington man treated for rabies

A man in Centre Wellington is being treated for rabies after public health officials confirmed the region’s first case of rabies in a bat.

It comes within a week of two rabid bats were identified in Lambton County.

Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health said the man is being treated as a precautionary measure.

Rabies is fatal if not treated.

CFIA cancels Sphinx’s licence

 

 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has cancelled the licence for Sphinx International Inc. for failure to meet standards including for traceability and preventive controls.

The company is located in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Quebec.

It invests in a broad range of enterprises, but mainly in minerals exploration.

Another bat has rabies

 

A second bat this month has tested positive for rabies, reports the Huron Perth Public Health unit.

It estimates that two per cent of the local bat population is infected.

It is repeating warnings to steer clear of bats and wild animals.

Metro sales and profits increase

Metro Inc. made a third-quarter profit of $323 million compared with $296.2 million in the same quarter last year.

Sales for the quarter rose by 3.3 per cent to $6.87-billion, up from $6.65-billion in the same quarter last year.

Enoki mushrooms on recall

Enoki mushrooms are under recall from retail outlets in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Testing by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency detected Listeria monocytogenes food-poisoning bacteria.

There have been no illnesses connected to recent consumption of these mushrooms.

There have been a number of recalls this year and last of imported Enoki mushrooms because of Listeria.

China stiffs Canadian canola

 China is imposing a tariff of 78.5 per cent on Canadian canola after investigating alleged dumping.

The duty is usually imposed to offset subsidies or selling below production costs.

It’s not clear how China can justify the tariff, but it is angry that Canada imposed a 100 per cent tariff on electric vehicles exported from China, a Canadian move that matched the tariff the United States imposed on China’s electric vehicles.

The Canadian car tariff kept Canada from becoming a back door into the U.S. market.

China is producing more electric vehicles than any country and they are sold well below North American prices.

It is not the first time China has imposed tariffs or trading bans on Canadian canola to apply political pressure unrelated to canola.

An example was choking off canola from two major grain companies when Canada held a Chinese executive the United States sought to extradite to face trading charges there.

The U.S. said the executive's company violated a ban on marketing electronic-industry products.