Agentinas’ beef producers stage strike

Meat producers in Argentina have announced a retaliatory strike in response to a government ban on meat exports.

The export ban – which was implemented this week and will last at least 30 days – is part of the government’s attempt to control runaway inflation. So far in 2021, meat prices are up by 22 per cent and are 65 per cent higher than a year ago.

But according to a report from the Buenos Aires Times, the Liaison Commission for Agricultural Entities (which includes producers) has announced it will cease “all categories of cattle trade” from midnight Thursday to May 28.

"We are going to join together immediately to totally reject this disastrous measure," Daniel Peregrina, president of the Argentina Rural Society industry group, told the Times. "The damage caused by the measure will decrease the supply of meat, making prices rise as has happened in the past."

A one-year ban that turned into 10 years resulted in a 12-million-head decline in the nation's beef herd.

The Rafaela Alimentos processing plant in Casilda, which employs 650 workers, temporarily shut down.

Argentina is the fourth-largest beef exporter in the world, and in 2020, it exported $3.37 billion in beef and cow leather, mainly to China, Germany, and Israel. 

                        

 

Ontario had three rabid skunks, one bat

 Ontario has had three rabid skunks and one rabid bat confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

The skunks were detected during March, the bat in January.

The Canadian total is 17 with five of them in Quebec – one red fox, one Arctic fox, one dog, and two bats.

Roundup settlement hits a snag

 U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco has raised questions that might derail a multi-billion class-action settlement agreed to by Bayer, owners of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide.

Chhabria noted in his final question that jury trials have gone very well for plaintiffs = i.e. those suing Monsanto.

Given that, the judge asked why class members should agree to a settlement that requires them to present at future trials a report from a science panel that will spend the next four years determining if Roundup causes cancer.

“The last question is a killer,” said David Noll, a professor at Rutgers Law School.

The company has said decades of studies have shown Roundup and its active ingredient glyphosate do not cause cancer and are safe for human use. Consumer groups and personal injury lawyers have criticized the plan because it prevents lawsuits for four years and bars class members from seeking punitive damages.

If science panel decides that Roundup has not caused the cancers victims claim, then Bayer would be off the hook.

Another question Chhabria posed is how all of the millions of people exposed to Roundup could be contacted to share in the settlement agreement.

He wondered if labeling Roundup to say it might cause cancer would be a better solution. Bayer has staunchly resisted the labeling option.

The agreement would provide free medical exams and up to $200,000 in compensation if a class member is diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer.

A year ago Bayer agreed to commit $9.6 billion to settle 125,000 claims over Roundup. That is a separate case.

Bayer bought Monsanto, owner of Roundup, for $63 billion in 2018.

                                    

 

 

 

 

Beef farmers protest loss of farmland

Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) has taken a strong stand in favour or protecting farmland from urban development.

It is supporting a campaign by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario was the first general farm organization to propose strong measures to protect farmland, including a ban on lot severances for family retirement homes.

The lobbying arises in the face of a number of measures the Ontario Progressive Conservatives have taken that are friendly to urban developers and reduce environmental protections and farmland preservation.

Some of those measures were tacked into legislation for Ontario’s COVID-19 response.

You'd think that Premier Doug Ford would realize that his support came almost entirely from rural Ontario and certainly not from the largest cities where his development-company cronies seem to be pushing the move to gut farmland and environmental protections.

But nobody has accused him of being brilliant.

“BFO has long advocated for the protection of farmland, but more specifically marginal land that isn’t suitable to grow crops, but where beef cattle can thrive on healthy pasturelands,” said president Rob Lipsett. 

“Every acre of pastureland that is protected contributes to soil health and provides a home for earthworms, wildlife and birds, not to mention the carbon storage ability of our tame grasslands.”

The impacts of the loss of farmland extends beyond concerns around food production capacity. Farmland and pastures play a significant role in providing and maintaining habitat for pollinators and species at risk, BFO said.

Research has found the decline in cattle numbers in Canada is directly linked to the decline in grasslands, which leads to a decline in habitat for grassland birds like the Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark who rely on these lands as much as ruminant livestock do, BFO said.

Pasturelands are also critical for oxygen production and carbon sequestration, maintaining and improving soil health, water cycling and biodiversity.

“The symbiotic relationship between grasslands and beef cattle has a measurable impact on the environment and the well-being of people,” said Lipsett. 

 

“Ontario’s beef farmers continue to protect this important natural ecosystem, but we need government to work with us to manage urban development responsibly.”

Agriculture is the backbone of our rural communities and is important to the quality of life of all Ontarians. In addition to environmental benefits, beef farms and the broader beef cattle sector have a presence and economic impact in every county and district in Ontario, sustaining more than 61,000 jobs in primary production, processing and retail across the province. 

Ontario’s beef industry, and the farmland used to raise cattle and produce beef, is vitally important to the well-being and growth of families, businesses and communities, BFO said.

U..S. dairies press for action vs. Canada

A group of 67 dairy companies and associations urged U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai to initiate a dispute settlement case with the Canadian government over its dairy tariff-rate quota (TRQ) administration if ongoing consultations and a U.S. Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Free Trade Commission meeting do not result in immediate resolution.

The USTR started consultations with Canada in December, 2020, over its TRQ policies.

Several months post-consultations, it is not readily apparent that progress has been made on resolving Canada’s circumvention of its trade obligations, the U.S. dairies said.

In a letter sent to Ambassador Tai, the U.S. dairy industry urged USTR to establish a Dispute Settlement Panel in the event there is not an immediate, positive resolution emerging from the consultations that begin soon.

Caution urged about spreading PED manure

Hog farmers need to take care about spreading manure from farms that have had an oubreak of Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PED), said  Dr. Jette Christensen, manager of the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network.

Manitoba has the disease under control now with no new cases reported this year, but the Network cautions that April to June is normally the period when PED cases peak.

Ontario had no cases from Jan. 15 to last week when there was one outbreak in the Waterloo Region.

Texas politicians restrict meat names

Politicians in Texas have passed a law that limits the names of chicken, beef, pork and goats to meat harvested from animals.

They intend to ban those names for products derived from plant proteins, insects or cell-culture procedures.

The legislation requires senate approval and the signature of Governor Greg Abbott before it can take effect.