New virus detected in Ontario pigs

Two cases of sapovirus have been detected in pigs in Ontario.

The samples were sent to the Animal Health Laboratory at Guelph and the results were confirmed by a lab at Iowa .

The virus causes diarrhea and atropic enteritis in nursery pigs.

There are no vaccines available for treatment.

In the United States farmers use autogenous vaccines (i.e. home-made ones developed from diseases pigs).

A posting on the Canadian Health Network said “the mixing of bacterial and viral agents in a single autogenous vaccine is not allowed in Canada and the number of viruses that can be included in one autogenous vaccine is limited. 

 

“With the transfer to loose‐sow housing, producers are requesting that the total number of vaccines given is limited to prevent health and safety concerns for workers that are tasked with vaccinating the same animals’ multiple times. 

“Also, in Canada the approval times to add new isolated viruses like Sapovirus into an already used autogenous vaccine is slow and often will not help in an outbreak case situation.” 

Prairie drought cutting Canadian grain harvest

Statistics Canada is estimating wheat production will decline to the second-lowest total in eight years and 14 per cent than last year.

It calculates a crop of 29.5 million based on data from satellite surveillance and climate up to July 31.

Canada is the world’s fourth-largest wheat exporter and the biggest shipper of canola, which is used largely to produce vegetable oil.

Canola production is estimated at 17.6 million tonnes, down six per cent from last year and the second=lowest in nine years.

Production of spring wheat is estimated to decline by 14.5 per cent to 22.1 million tonnes. Durum’s forecast is down by 28 per cent to 4.3 million tonnes.

Oat production is projected at 2.4 million tonnes, which is less than half as much as last year and the lowest since 1991.

Corn production is estimated to increase by one per cent and soybeans by 2.9 per cent.

Statistics Canada will release new estimates on Sept. 14 using data as of Aug. 31.

Biosecurity subsidies for Ontario

 

The federal and Ontario governments announced they have $7.5 million to spend on enhancing biosecurity in the food chain.

The program expands on $3 million that was earmarked for the pork sector.

This initiative will be available to Ontario businesses such as veterinary clinics, livestock auction barns and commingling facilities, grain elevators, seed treatment facilities, and transportation providers. 

Examples of eligible projects include establishing or improving cleaning practices, creating isolation facilities, constructing wash bays for disinfecting and training to support the mitigation of biosecurity risks in food production.

Agriculture emissions rising steeply

The National Farmers Union reports that greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture have increased by 41 per cent since 1990.

While that’s highlighted in the NFU news release, in the full report prepared by Darrel Qualman, it says compared to last year’s report, nitrous oxide emissions from synthetic nitrogen fertilizer have been reduced by approximately 20 percent between 1990 and 2020 and nitrous oxide emissions from the application of organic nitrogen fertilizers (including manure) and decomposition of crop residues have been reduced by about 40 percent. 

Sequestration of carbon dioxide has increased by 100 to 400 percent, depending on the year, as Environment and Climate Change Canada changed is measuring methods.

Canada has committed to reduce economy-wide GHG emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050.

But in the news release, the NFU said total greenhouse gas  emissions from Canadian agriculture increased from 58.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide  in 1990 to 82.6 million tonnes in 2021.

It also said emissions from nitrogen fertilizers and from fossil fuels both doubled in that same time frame.

The full report also questions the reliability of some of the data the federal government is using, such as the United Nations’ estimate of livestock methane emissions and manure management relating to nitrous oside emissions.

Qualman also notes that beef farming has reduced methane emissions in the last five years, mainly because there are fewer cattle. Dairy cattle emissions have also declined.

But the full report also said  “beef and dairy-related emissions may contribute more than 40 percent of all agricultural emissions in Canada.”

But it goes on to report “quantification of methane sources and sinks entails large uncertainties.

“There is a disconnect between the quantification of emissions tonnages from cattle and the interpretation of those reported emissions. 

“Consider this hypothetical: If the fossil fuel sector was a source only of carbon dioxide but not of methane, then current atmospheric methane concentrations would be much closer to long-term historical levels and therefore methane and cattle might not be seen as contributing to climate change. 

“That said, from many sources, humans have tripled atmospheric concentrations of methane.”

While reduced tillage gets a lot of credit for reducing emissions, Qualman said a bigger factor is the reduction in summerfallow acreage.

He also notes that the federal government is not measuring emissions related to reducing wetlands, mainly across the Prairies.

He also concludes that farmers’ carbon sequestration accounts for only a 22 per cent decrease in the balance of total emissions and that contribution is declining and likely to continue to decline.

In the conclusions in the full report, Qualman wrote that despite all the uncertainties “we have more than enough data and more than enough precision to move forward swiftly, energetically, and courageously to reduce agricultural emissions. 

“Commitments by governments to cut emissions from methane, from fertilizer, and from the economy as a whole provide clear signals that we need to act now and in each coming year to reduce emissions from all agricultural categories.”

The full 43-page report is available at  https://www.nfu.ca/publications/ag-ghg-emissions-in-cad-3rd-edition

                           

 

Bayer strikes deal with Pairwise

Bayer AG has made a deal with Pairwise to gain access to 27 novel traits useful in Bayer’s crop breeding program for shorter corn varieties.

Pairwise is known for introducing the first gene-edited foods to the United States market.

Short-stature corn – with a targeted height of 30 to 40 percent shorter than traditional corn – is seen as important in face of increasingly severe weather events and extreme winds and allows for more precise application of inputs throughout the growing season, Bayer said.

The initial five-year multi-milion-dollar collaboration focused on corn, soy, wheat, cotton and canola aims to reduce crop inputs and yields.

Results of collaborations so far “demonstrated significant commercial value including edited corn phenotypes with a 20 percent increase in kernel row numbers, which could lead to significantly more yield on the same number of acres.

“Another outcome has been edited soy that reduces the severity of Asian soybean rust, potentially reducing the need for fungicides to combat the disease and protecting the potential for higher yields,” Bayer said.

                                    

Ford says some Greenbelt land back

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his government is looking at returning two parcels of land swapped out of the protected Greenbelt after learning the property owner has listed the land for sale.

He said the land was taken out of the Greenbelt in return for promises home construction would be undertaken, not sold to others.

Ford said in a statement Tuesday he recently learned that the owner of two sites in Ajax, east of Toronto, which were selected as part of the Greenbelt land-swap agreement with the Ontario government had put the land up for sale. 

He said at no point was the intention to sell disclosed to the government’s facilitator during discussions.

“This behaviour goes against everything that our government is doing to bring home ownership into reach for more people. In response, our government is exploring every option available to us, including immediately starting the process to put these sites back into the Greenbelt,” Mr. Ford said.

“To the other property owners, you’re on notice: if you don’t meet our government’s conditions, including showing real progress by year end with a plan to get shovels in the ground by 2025, your land will go back into the Greenbelt.”

Palmer Amaranth sighted in Wellington County

A Palmer Amaranth weed plant has been sighted on the edge of a corn field in Wellington County, reports Mike Cowbrough, weed specialist for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

It’s worrisome because in the United States it has proven resistant to all herbicides, is prolific and sometimes grows to eight feet tall.

It’s not the first time it’s been seen in Ontario.

Provincial specialists previously confirmed one-off appearances in separate spots in Ontario in 1966, 1978 and, most recently, in 2007 near Niagara Falls.

Cowbrough  said “it was only a matter of time” before the weed turned up in Ontario, as it was already in the Ontario-adjacent states of New York and Michigan — and has been seen in all other states bordering the Great Lakes.

A few were seen in Manitoba two years ago.

It looks much like pigweed, but does not have hairy stems.