(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures slump on strong dollar, bird flu woes

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell three per cent Wednesday, with deferred contracts making new lows, on the strong dollar and bird flu in Arkansas, traders said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed the case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Arkansas. Investors […] Read more









(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Hens near Chilliwack catch H5N1 avian flu

About 95 layer hens on a “non-commercial” farm near Chilliwack are the Fraser Valley’s latest cases of avian influenza, but not of the same strain seen at 12 other farms in December. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Saturday announced a quarantine on the Chilliwack farm after confirming, effective Feb. 2, that table egg-laying birds […] Read more


New Washington poultry quarantine set up near B.C. border

Reuters — The state of Washington said Tuesday it has established a third poultry quarantine zone just outside British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, after state officials discovered a flock of about 100 birds infected with an avian influenza virus. The Washington State Department of Agriculture adopted an emergency rule on Sunday to establish the new quarantine […] Read more

Husband of B.C. woman with H7N9 also infected

Toronto | Reuters –– The husband of a woman who tested positive for the H7N9 avian flu virus earlier this week was also infected, likely from a common source during their visit to China, federal and provincial officials confirmed Friday. The couple, residents of British Columbia, exhibited symptoms one day apart and likely did not […] Read more