COVID-19 Archives - Page 45 of 49

Pandemic to delay StatsCan’s agriculture reports

By GFM Network News April 8, 2020

MarketsFarm — Farmers, commodity traders and market analysts will have to wait a while for agriculture-related reports from Statistics Canada in 2020. The main reason for the delay is the COVID-19 pandemic, said John Seay, an analyst with StatsCan’s agriculture, energy, environment and transportation statistics branch in Ottawa. “Given the COVID-19 outbreak, senior management is […] Read more

Livestock, Poultry/Eggs

Maple Leaf poultry plant shuts for ‘deep cleaning’

COVID-19 found in three workers at Brampton facility

By Glacier FarmMedia staff, GFM Network News April 8, 2020

One of two Maple Leaf Foods plants at Brampton, Ont. has gone into shutdown mode for “deep cleaning” in the wake of three cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus among its workers. Toronto-based Maple Leaf announced Wednesday that operations at the company’s Kennedy Road poultry slaughter and packing plant in Brampton are suspended “while we complete […] Read more

Editor's column, Wheat & Chaff

Editor’s Column: Agriculture rises to the occasion for COVID-19

By Kari Belanger April 8, 2020

As our April 7 issue of Grainews went to press, there were more than 2,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada, about 17 times that number in the United States and upwards of 330,000 worldwide. In a matter of weeks, the way we conduct business and our daily lives has been altered dramatically, as it […] Read more

FIle photo of Dr. Baljit Singh, dean of veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary, leading a tour the UCVM’s Spy Hill campus in 2017. (Gov.ab.ca)

Livestock

Universities can adapt to COVID-19, UCVM dean says

As administrators and faculty modify the system, dean calls for renewed public focus on food production and distribution

By Lisa Guenther, GFM Network News April 7, 2020

As COVID-19 pushes universities to change the way they teach, carry out research and conduct clinical work, the dean of veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary is confident that they can adapt. The academic system “from coast to coast is very intact,” Dr. Baljit Singh said. “We will continue to develop new technologies. We […] Read more

Finishers, Livestock, Markets

Klassen: Feeder market lacks buying interest

Market gives in to pressure from Chicago futures

By Jerry Klassen, GFM Network News April 7, 2020

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $5-$8 lower on average, with yearlings dropping as much as $10-$12 in certain areas. It appears buyers are incorporating a risk discount due to uncertainty in beef demand longer-term. Rising unemployment levels, sluggish consumer confidence and a sharp drop in disposable income are all factors […] Read more

CME June 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures drop as pandemic roils markets

Technical buying lifts hogs, feeder cattle

By GFM Network News April 6, 2020

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures plunged to their daily trading limit on Monday — with prices for the front-month contract hitting the lowest seen since December 2009 — as beef inventories remain robust with much of the U.S. restaurant industry shuttered due to the pandemic. April live cattle were down the 4.5-cent […] Read more

General, Machinery

Federal carbon tax rises despite opposition, pandemic

Ottawa not backing away from scheduled increases

By GFM Network News April 6, 2020

Ottawa — The federal government has pushed ahead with an increase to the carbon tax despite continued calls from the agriculture sector for reprieve from the program. The price on carbon rose from $20 per tonne to $30 per tonne effective April 1. The federal Liberal government is standing firm on its commitment to increase […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Livestock, Markets

Beef demand soars as consumers ‘aggressively’ stock up

Surge in sales accompanied by a jump in people looking online for recipes

By Alexis Kienlen, GFM Network News April 6, 2020

Canada’s beef demand has been strong during the pandemic. “Unlike previous disease outbreak issues, COVID-19 has not been about food safety or consumer confidence or issues with food products,” Canada Beef president Michael Young said during a recent online town hall. “Beef demand at retail is up 50 to 70 per cent. Consumers have aggressively […] Read more

General, Markets, Weather

Canadian farmland trending less affordable in FCC report

Average values continue rising across board

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News April 6, 2020

The average value of farmland in Canada is continuing to rise faster than farmers’ ability to generate revenue from it, Farm Credit Canada’s latest Farmland Values Report suggests. The report, released Monday, shows the average value of Canadian farmland rose 5.2 per cent in 2019 over 2018, the smallest year-over-year increase since 2010, and down […] Read more

Farmer Anil Salunkhe feeds strawberries to a cow during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the Satara district in India’s Maharashtra state on April 1, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Rajendra Jadhav)

Crops, Markets, Reuters

How COVID-19 is upending global food supply chains

Cows fed strawberries in India, watermelons rot in U.S., okra not reaching Canada

By GFM Network News April 4, 2020

Satara/Singapore/London | Reuters — In the fertile Satara district in western India, farmers are putting their cattle on an unorthodox diet: Some feed iceberg lettuce to buffalo. Others feed strawberries to cows. It’s not a treat. They can either feed their crops to animals or let them spoil. And other farmers are doing just that […] Read more

CFIA rejects beekeeper proposals on U.S. packaged bees

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures fall hard, hogs mixed

Alberta Crop Report: Scattered rains, crop conditions

GFM Network News