(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. avian flu outbreak of 2022 wipes out record number of birds

Vast majority of caseload originated with wild birds: USDA

Chicago | Reuters — Avian flu has wiped out 50.54 million birds in the United States this year, making it the country’s deadliest outbreak in history, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed Thursday. The deaths of chickens, turkeys and other birds represent the worst U.S. animal-health disaster to date, topping the previous record of 50.5 […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Bird flu pressure bears down on B.C. farms

High-path flu hits 13 commercial farms in Fraser Valley within past week

Commercial poultry farmers in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley have come out the worst so far this month in Canada’s year-long fight with highly pathogenic avian influenza. Since Wednesday last week, that region alone has seen outbreaks on 13 commercial poultry farms: nine at Abbotsford, three at Chillwack and one in the District of Kent. That’s […] Read more


(Diane Kuhl/iStock/Getty Images)

CUSMA compensation set for supply-managed sectors

Feds pledge over $1.7 billion in payments, programs

A final round of payments and programs for Canada’s supply-managed dairy and feather sectors — this time in compensation for the sequel deal to NAFTA — is now on deck for 2023 and beyond. Compensation to those sectors for domestic market concessions granted under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) was telegraphed in federal Finance Minister Chrystia […] Read more

File photo of steam rising from the top of a grain dryer. (Diane Kuhl/iStock/Getty Images)

New farm fuel carbon tax rule to return to Commons

Further carbon pricing exemptions clear ag committee, with sunset clause added

A bill that would exempt more farm fuels from Canada’s federal carbon pricing scheme has cleared the Commons’ ag committee and returned to the House of Commons to seek a third and final vote. C-234, a private member’s bill sponsored by southwestern Ontario Conservative MP Ben Lobb, appeared before the Commons’ standing committee on agriculture […] Read more


File photo of Upside Foods’ chicken product. (Upsidefoods.com)

Lab-grown meat cleared for human consumption by U.S. regulator

FDA's review not technically approval

Washington | Reuters — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time cleared a meat product grown from animal cells for human consumption, the agency announced on Wednesday. Upside Foods, a company that makes cell-cultured chicken by harvesting cells from live animals and using the cells to grow meat in stainless-steel tanks, […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Cybersecurity ‘incident’ hits Maple Leaf systems

Grocery firm Empire also dealing with IT grief

Some information technology (IT) systems at Canadian pork and poultry packer Maple Leaf Foods have been downed in what the company described Monday as a “cybersecurity incident.” The company said in a release Monday that it “took immediate action and engaged cybersecurity and recovery experts” when it learned of the problem, and its in-house and […] Read more


File photo of the produce section at a Canadian grocery store. (FatCamera/E+/Getty Images)

Competition Bureau to probe soaring food prices

Retail food prices seen outpacing inflation

Reuters — Canada’s competition watchdog said on Monday it would examine factors impacting soaring food prices and whether more competition in the grocery stores sector could help lower costs for Canadians. Price rises for store-bought food have been outpacing the broader annual inflation rate for 10 consecutive months, and grew 11.4 per cent in September, […] Read more

File photo of a CFIA vehicle. (Dave Bedard photo)

Avian flu circles back to Quebec

Saskatchewan's bird mingling ban held over

Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu have returned to Quebec’s poultry sector after a lull of just over two months, while more Canadian cases continue to pile up at points west. Canada’s fall migratory season for wild birds appears to have led to the return of outbreaks in both commercial and backyard poultry flocks and […] Read more


(Sollio Co-operative Group video screengrab via YouTube)

Pork packer Olymel laying off dozens of managers

Market unpredictability, 'growth challenges' cited

Major Canadian pork and poultry packer Olymel has laid off 57 people from its management ranks and eliminated another 120 administrative positions, citing the company’s current “market context and growth challenges.” Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec-based Sollio Cooperative Group, said Tuesday its affected employees were notified Monday and have received their layoff notices. […] Read more

(Lauri Patterson/iStock/Getty Images)

Thanksgiving in a time of bird flu

North America's poultry sector is embroiled in a fall surge of avian influenza, even as turkey demand hits one of its annual peaks

It’s the final stretch until Thanksgiving, but anyone hoping to bring their raw bird over the border may be disappointed. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public that raw poultry, including turkey, from restricted areas of the U.S. will not be allowed past the international border due to the ongoing fight with […] Read more