CFIA plans bird flu vaccine trial

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it is planning to conduct a small, carefully-controlled trial of a vaccine to counter higihly-pathogenic avian influenza,

Migrating birds have been responsible for hundreds of outbreaks among commercial and backyard poultry flocks leading to the culling of more than 17 million birds to prevent further spread.

Farms in the lower mainland of British Columbia have been particularly hard hit, but no province has remained untouched.

The agency said it will be co-operating with provincial and industry partners to plan and conduct the trials.

So far Canada has been able to avoid international trading bans because of its aggressive virus control program, but a vaccine could trigger tradeing bans because a vaccinated bird is difficult to distinguish from a diseased one.

The plan is to try vaccines on a poultry farm to assess how they perform while managing potential impacts on animal health, surveillance and trade.

“Findings from this trial may inform future decisions on whether HPAI vaccination should be used in Canada,” said Cynthia Philippe, CFIA acting veterinary program specialist.

American farmers get subsidies, Canadians nothing

 

Farmers in the United States are getting subsidies to offset rising fertilizer costs and might be in line for more but so far Canadians have been promised nothing.

The United States Department of Agriculture has already committed nearly $10 billion to farmers to help with high fertilizer costs, including: $780 million to Illinois; $805 million to Texas; $773 million to Kansas; and $857 million to Iowa. 

Reports also suggest it may utilize Trump administration tariff revenue to help with fertilizer costs, although the Supreme Court’s February ruling on tariff policy has complicated the legality of those funds.

 

In late March, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said a “super majority” of American farmers had pre-booked fertilizers at lower pre-war costs, and therefore, there “shouldn’t be too much of a disruption” to U.S. planting of critical feed crops for meat processing. 

However, an American Farm Bureau Federation survey of farmers questions the truth of her claim.

According to the survey, pre-booking differed “significantly by region”: 67 per cent among Midwest farmers, but 30 per cent in the Northeast, 31 per cent in the West, and 19 per cent in the South. 

Even with those pre-bookings, 70 per cent of all farmers reported they were unable to afford fertilizer for 2026’s planting, including 48%per cent in the Midwest, 69 per cent in the Northeast, 78 per cent in the South, and 66 per cent in the West.

Specific to crops, the Farm Bureau found that 68per cent of soybean farmers cannot afford all required fertilizer and neither can 66 per cent of corn farmers. 

Ag tech startups gain support

 

Bioenteprise has partnered with Agricultural Credit Corporation to offer up-front funding for people trying to launch agriculture technology businesses.

Access to timely capital is often the difference between a project moving forward or being delayed, Bioenterprise said in a news release announcing the partnership.

Many funding programs require matching funds for eligibility. This can create a barrier to moving forward, even for strong projects, it said.

Credit will be available for startup costs, to provide cash flow during the business launch and to provide matching funds required to access some government programs.

Agricultural Credit Corporation is best known for providing cash advances to farmers to cover costs until crops are harvested and sold.

More PED outbreaks

Swine Health Ontario reported outbreaks of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in Huron and Middlesex Counties.

In Middlesex it is at a farrow-to-wean farm and in Huron in a nursery farm.

Three appointed to economic council

Tne government has appointed three people to three-year terms on its Rural Economic Development Advisory Council.

They are Chris Gerrits of Amaranth, Mitch Bloom of Oxford Mills and John Smithers of Cambridge.

The council is part of the agriculture ministry.

 

Farmer wins exemption from farm registration

 Charles Stephen Gingerich of Zurich has won his appeal and will not have to register his farm under the Farm Business Registration Act.

It also means he need not pay the annual registration fee.

He previously paid the fee and directed his funds to the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario.

But he has come to believe he ought not register his farm business, which is crops and contract hog production, based on personal convictions.

He is a member of the Independent Holiness Church, but did not base his objections on its doctrines or support from its bishop. 

The bishop did write that the church allows members to hold personal convictions.

The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Tribunal said it believes Gingerich’s convictions are sincere, so it granted the appeal.

Sunterra fails to convince court

An Alberta court has denied hog-company Sunterra’s request to appeal a decision finding it owes Compeer Financial $35 million because of cheque kiting.

Alberta Court of Appeal justice Michelle Crighton also denied Compeer’s request to appeal certain parts of the January ruling from King’s Bench .

Compeer Financial said Sunterra was sending large cheques back and forth between its U.S. and Canadian companies. Sunterra operated three hog companies in the United States at that time.

In the original case, Justice Michael Lema said the cheque-writing occurred “on an astonishing scale” and found Sunterra and Ray Price liable for $35 million Compeer lost.

Sunterra entered Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act protection at the same time the allegations were made and remains under that stay of proceedings while it restructures.

Sunterra argued in its appeal application that Lema had made errors of law and fact and put the burden of proof unfairly on the company. It said there was no expert opinion evidence that the cheque kiting had occurred.

Compeer argued that Lema found Price personally liable but did not find the same for two other employees.

Crighton said the arguments both Sunterra and Compeer presented are not legally valid.

For a short time Sunterra owned a hog-packing plant at Mitchell, Ont.