A closed ahop

The supply management sector of agriculture is a closed shop.

Almost always those appointed to be in charge of the National Farm Products Council or the Canadian Dairy Commission are plucked from positions on provincial marketing boards or national supply-management agencies.

But nothing compares with British Columbia where the chairman of the provincial supervisory agency, Al Sakalauskas, was chairman of the B.C. Egg Marketing Board and now is returning to chairman of the egg board.

And the current egg board chair, Gunta Vitins, has been appointed the new chair of the B.C. Farm Industry Review Board. 

They just swapped places.

Who is the supervisor and the supervised?

And how can the public ever catch a break on eggs? Maybe just broken eggs in cartons that seem to find their way to retail markets without any concerns raised by the marketing board or its supervisors.

At least that's my experience reporting on egg quality in Ontario where the same two dominant egg-grading companies do business in B.C.

Delving deeper into food inflation

The United States Bureau of Labour Statistics reports that the prices for food consumed at home were 2.1 per cent higher this year than last, but food eaten away from home cost 5.4 per cent more.

Beef prices were up 8.9 per cent, including by 7.9 per cent for ground beef), 9.7 per cent for roasts and 10.6 per cent for steaks. Veal was up by 4.1 per cent.

Pork prices were up by only three-tenths of one per cent and breakfast sausages cost 1.2 per cent less than a year ago. Pork chops were up by 4.3 per cent.

Chicken prices were down by four-tenthss of one per  cent while fresh whole chickens cost 2.3 [er cent mor. Turkey was up by 7.2 per cent.

Frankfurters, which saw record price increases last year, were up by 4.9 per cent.

As for food away from home, vending machines and mobile vendors saw the biggest price hikes of 14.9 per cent, full-service meals were up by 4.3 per cent while limited service was up by 6.2 per cent.

Labatt’s invests $26.6 million

 Labatt’s In London has invested $26.6 million in four beer tanks so it can increase production and buy more Canadian grains.

Production capacity will increase by 597,000 hectolitres per year.

In addition to the new tanks, Labatt also announced its spending $13.9 million for two new packaging lines. This new technology uses sustainable paperboard, eliminating the need for plastics and significantly reduces the need for glue.

Best for Bees wins global silver award

 

Best for Bees of Kitchener has won the silver medal in the Practical Beekeeping category at the World Beekeeping competition held recently in Chili.

Founder and chief executive officer Erica Shelley said the novelty of her ProtectaBEE invention likely caught the judges’ attention.

Her invention is a small cone placed at the hive entrance so bees pick up a fungicide powder that combats threats such as varroa mites.

“One of the things that they’re really looking for is innovation, so something that has not been seen before,” she said.

“Our device, the way it just easily fits on the front of a beehive (is) very practical. It does so many different things for beekeepers. We originally invented it for bee vectoring to bring fungal powders into a beehive for the management of varroa mites.

“That was how it started but because of the way that we designed it, we have different inserts that will allow a beekeeper to direct traffic or keep out pests and predators throughout an entire beekeeping season,” she told reporter Joel Grignon of Farmtario.

Loblaws profit climbs 11.7 per cent

 Loblaws profits increased by 11.7 per cent its third quarter compared with last year.

Revenues were up by five per cent to $18.3-billion. That’s an increase of less than the Statistics Canada report for September food inflation of 5.8 per cent and August of 6.9 per cent, the company noted.

Loblaws is Canada's largest supermarket business.

Last month, the federal government announced that grocery chains promised to offer discounts and price-matching in a bid to “stabilize” prices.

Critics said the plan mostly included strategies the sector already employs, such as offering discounts and price-matching and price freezes leading up to Christmas.

Malichita cantaloupes under recall

 

Malichita brand cantaloupes are under recall because the Canadian Food Inspection Agency detected salmonella  bacterial contamination.

They were distributed widely across Canada. There have been no reports of illness linked to these cantaloupes.

In the United States Sofia Produce LLC issued a recall for the cantaloupes distributed in at least 10 states from California in the west, New Jersey in the east and Michigan in the north.

The company which operates under Trufresh is based in Arizona.

Beware of mycotoxins in corn

There is a greater risk of mycotoxins in this year’s corn harvest and livestock and poultry farmers should be cautious about feeds, said the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in its most recent Field Crop Report.

There are more mycotoxins in corn west of London, it said, although it has found worrisome levels of more than five points per million in all areas.

Three quarters of the 192 samples collected tested at two parts per million or less which is below the level of concern.

But even at that level the mycotoxins can have an adverse effect on pregnant sows.

What remains to be learned is how much mycotoxins in this year’s harvest will multiply in storage.

Mycotoxins thrived in the wet conditions this summer and fall and in some cases wildlife have damaged husks exposing kernels to increased risk of attack.

Deoxynivalenol (DON), also known as vomitoxin, is the most worrisome and prevalent mycotoxin. It develops from corn moulds.