Americans face butter price surge

Americans are facing a decline in butter supplies and sharp price increases.

Prices were 24.6 per cent higher in August than the year before and since then have continued to increase as inventories have declined by 22 per cent.

The shortage is blamed on reduced production because of extreme heat and farmers cutting back because their costs have increased faster than milk and cream prices.

Half of children have deficient diets

Half of pre-school-age children are suffering vitamin and mineral deficiencies, according to a research paper published in Lancet Global Health.

And 66 per cent of women in child-bearing age are similarly deficient in vitamins and minerals.

Lynnette Neufeld, director of Food and Nutrition Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said “diets that don’t provide the right levels of vitamins and minerals can compromise your immune system, impair your cognition and school performance, decrease your work productivity, and may contribute to risks of non-communicable diseases such as heart problems. 

“This is a widespread problem, impacting individuals, families and communities everywhere in the world, although particularly in lower income countries.”

The study vastly increases the number of people believed to be suffering from malnutrition. Before these findings, the estimate was two billion people.

The research team was a led by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN),through the United States AID agency’s Advancing Nutrition project, along with a team of global micronutrient experts, including an advisory panel brought together by the Micronutrient Forum. 

Micronutrient deficiencies are highest in lower income countries because diets often lack a diversity of nutrient-rich foods and tend to rely on a large share of calories from rice, wheat, maize or similar staple foods. 

Ninety per cent of women in several countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are deficient. 

However, deficiencies are surprisingly high even in high-income countries. In the U.S. and the United Kingdom, for example, between one third and one half of women of reproductive age are deficient in one or more micronutrients. In high-income countries this is likely the result of diets high in processed but micronutrient-poor foods, rather than reliance on a single staple as in many lower income countries.

Saskia Osendarp, executive director, Micronutrient Forum, said “there are very clear solutions. We need to ensure everyone has access to a variety of micronutrient-dense foods, including animal-source foods, dark green leafy vegetables and beans, lentils or peas. 

“Food fortification can help make up the difference when healthy diets are unaffordable or accessible. Health programs can provide supplements to those with extra needs, such as pregnant women and malnourished children,” she said.

It might sound simple, but realizing these solutions is not easy because our food systems are not fit for purpose, and increasingly less so, the research team said.

These issues have existed for a long time—and urgently need to be addressed. The issues are now exacerbated by the long-term impact of climate change, the lasting damage to supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, and the imminent economic downturn, all coming together to create major challenges. 

The authors said all of us have to work together now to implement lasting solutions to ensure everyone has the nutritious and healthy diet they need to reach their potential now and in the future.

Avian flu detected in E. Ont. and Que.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency reports that highly-pathogenic avian influenza has infected a commercial flock at St-Jacques le Mineur in the Eastern Townships of Quebec and in a small flock at Plantagenet, south-east of Ottawa.

There will be 10-km quarantine zones around both sites.

Ontario land prices still rising

Farm land prices in Ontario increased by 15.6 per cent over the first six months of this year, reports Farm Credit Canada.

The survey was taken after interest rates went up by 1.5 per cent, but not before they rose an additional 1.5 per cent.

Chad Lawley, economics professor at the University of Manitoba, said land prices will begin to decline as interest rates rise.

But J.P. Gervais, senior economist with FCC, said he does not foresee a repeat of the crash of farm values in the early 1980s that bankrupted many optimistic farmers who loaded up on debt to buy farms and expand operations.

Then inflation spiked higher than 20 per cent and mortgage interest rates from commercial lenders went as high as 18 per cent.

Lawley said “big increases in interest rates could cause big decreases in farmland prices, or at least they did in the past.

“I don’t know how out of control inflation is going to get, I don’t know where interest rates are going to go, and commodity prices remain strong,” he said, so there probably won’t be a repeat of the 1980s disaster.

Gervais said “I do think rising interest rates are going to slow down the rate of appreciation, but I think the outlook remains optimistic.

 “When you think about the 1980s farm crisis, what made it a crisis were not only the high rates but also the low commodity prices” and he doubts there will be a repeat of that this time.

 “I have to work really hard to find a scenario in which we’re going to see prices collapse. A lot of things can bring volatility to the marketplace,” he said.

 “There are some scenarios in which you could see prices coming down, but it’s all about probabilities. And I would say right now, there’s a higher likelihood of prices that remain elevated.”

The FCC was bankrupted by the 1980s crash and only survived because the federal government backed it with hundreds of millions of dollars.

Chatham honours Robb Nelson

Rob Nelson, owner of AgriRoots Capital Management which lends to farm and agri-businesses, has been chosen Entrepreneur of the Year by the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce.

Nelson also heads Maple City Homes.

Chesley emergency unit closed

Chesley hospital has closed its emergency department for eight weeks.

It began closing at night in September and now the shortage of nurses has prompted the long-term complete closure.

The inpatient unit, community lab collections and diagnostic imaging services will remain open.

Maybe all the rural voters who supported re-election of Doug Ford's Conservatives are questioning why they rejected the other parties' candidates who were warning about the crises in health care. 

Erin Morgan hired by Ontario Sheep Farmers

Erin Morgan is the new executive director of the Ontario Sheep Farmers, moving over from executive director of the Ontario Cooperative Association.

She takes over from Jennifer MacTavish who served for nine years and before that for nine years at the Canadian Sheep Federation.

Morgan has also served as general manager for the Ontario Bean Growers and manager of public affairs and communications for Grain Farmers of Ontario.