Processor subsidies open April 1

The province is opening applications for its Strategic Agri-Food Processing Fund Program on April 1.

It offers up to $3 million to build new or expand and modernize existing facilities.

The fall budget included $25 million over two years for the fund.

The chairs of the Beef Farmers of Ontario, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Ontario Pork marketing board all expressed appreciation for the program.

“This strategic investment will boost competitiveness and create new opportunities for the Ontario food processing sector and the entire supply chain,” said Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

CAAIN invites meat-packer entries for $5 million

The Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN) is offering $5 million to 16 successful applicants from the Canadian meat-packing industry.

Applications are now open; decisions will be announced in the fall.

CAAIN is a non-profit organization based in Edmonton that started in 2019 with $49 million from the federal and Alberta governments.

The applications must include at least two small or medium-sized plants; Statistics Canada’s definition of fewer than 499 employees will apply.

The money is intended to stimulate interest and investment in automation at meat-packing plants. 

The Canadian Meat Council has been lobbying hard for several years to convince the federal government to allow meat-packers to employ more temporary foreign workers to fill vacant positions.

Avian flu claims 3-million-bird flock

Avian influenza has claimed a layer flock of three million birds in Wisconsin.

It’s by far the largest disaster so far as wild birds continue to spread virus-containing poop across North America, Europe and Asia.

The United States has so far lost a total of about seven million chickens and turkeys to outbreaks this year. In 2015 it lost 50 million birds and the virus cost the U.S. treasury about $1billion in compensation and the poultry industry about $3 billion.

There have been three cases so far in Canada, one in Newfoundland and two in Nova Scotia; none of those were large commercial flocks.

So far the virus has been detected in 21 states and seven of those have involved only wild birds.

Ontario steps up African Swine Fever vigilance

There is $3.25 million on offer from the federal and Ontario governments to increase biosecurity to guard against African Swine Fever.

They are offering to cover up to 50 per cent of costs, up to a maximum of $40,000.

There are eight categories:

- education, training, assessment, and planning;

- defining zones and controlled access points;

- establishing cleaning and disinfecting practices;

- establishing isolation or segregation facilities;

- preventing access by wildlife, pests, and rodents;

health management;

- establishing facilities to manage deadstock, and

- equipment and services/

The program is open to hog farmers, pork packers, assembly and auction facilities, truckers and veterinary clinics.

Co-ops say they’re important

In the runup to a provincial election, the Ontario Co-operative Association is touting the importance they have to the economy and jobs.

It said it will be taking that message to the politicians seeking election, seeking changes that make it easier to form and invest in co-operatives and generating public awareness.

Their most recent data indicates there are 1,181 co-operatives in Ontario providing more than 19,000 jobs that pay more than $891 million.

Only Quebec has more co-operatives - 2,816 co-operatives – and it is home base to some major Ontario operations such as Solio.

“While strong, Ontario's co-operative sector has not grown in proportion to other provinces. The province counts for 40 percent of both population and GDP of Canada, yet its co-operative sector accounts for only twenty percent of the total number of co-operatives nationally,” said Erin Morgan, the association’s executive director.

Forty-three per cent of Ontario’s co-operatives are for housing, 14 per cent for health care and social assistance, eight per cent for finance and insurance, seven per cent run wholesale businesses and six per cent construction and manufacturing.

 Agriculture is lumped in with forestry, fishing, mining and gas and accounts for only two per cent of the co-operatives in Ontario. 

Canada lifts ban on beef, pork from Brazil

Canada has lifted its ban on beef and pork from Brazil, a ban that began three years ago over concerns about foot and mouth disease outbreaks in Brazil.

Brazil’s Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias tweeted the news to Reuters news agency after she met with officials of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in Ottawa Monday.

She is also here to speak to Nutrien about fertilizer supplies.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed to Reuters that it "approved the import of raw and cooked poultry meat, pork and pH matured beef from Brazil." 

Competition Bureau finds no price-fixing

The Canadian Competition Bureau has found that suppliers of pesticides, fertilizer and seeds did not conspire against Farmers Business Network Inc.

The network filed a complaint with the bureau two years ago.

The bureau said “following a careful review of the evidence, the Bureau determined that the evidence does not sufficiently demonstrate that an agreement exists between competitors in relation to FBN.”

Farmers Business Network in the United States launched a Canadian counterpart in 2017, offering its services online.

The day before the Canadian Competition Bureau issued its ruling, United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced an investigation into fertilizers, pesticides and seeds pricing.