Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday threw his support behind a proposal to establish a special investigator to address concerns about anti-competitive practices in the meat and poultry industries. Republican U.S. Senators Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Charles Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana have proposed legislation […] Read more
U.S. ag secretary backs proposed meatpacking investigator
JBS says it paid US$11 million in bitcoin for ransom
Cyberattack disrupted plants in North America, Australia
Reuters — Meatpacker JBS USA paid a ransom equivalent to US$11 million (C$13.3 million) following a cyberattack that disrupted its North American and Australian operations, the company’s CEO said in a statement Wednesday. The subsidiary of Brazilian firm JBS halted cattle slaughtering at all of its U.S. plants and its Alberta beef plant for a […] Read more
China reports first human case of H10N3 bird flu
Strain 'not a very common virus'
Beijing | Reuters — A 41-year-old man in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu has been confirmed as the first human case of infection with a rare strain of bird flu known as H10N3, Beijing’s National Health Commission (NHC) said on Tuesday. Many different strains of bird flu are present in China and some sporadically infect […] Read more
Feather sector’s on-farm upgrade program underway
Applications now being accepted for funding
The federal free trade compensation program to help Canada’s poultry and egg producers pay for on-farm upgrades, renovations and improvements is now taking applications. The $646.8 million, 10-year Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program (PEFIP) is now formally underway, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced Monday. Each eligible Canadian producer is entitled to an amount proportional […] Read more
A side order of software aims to help small-scale producers
Reading Time: 3 minutes A local ag-tech startup wants to make it easier for small-scale farmers to connect with — and sell to — their customers. “We’re empowering farmers to go direct or go to wholesale and giving them more tools to do so because of some of the stuff we’ve seen through COVID,” said Shanika Abeysinghe, co-founder of […] Read more
Don’t count chickens before they hatch: Tyson bet on wrong rooster
Meat giant books unexpected decline in hatching
Chicago | Reuters — Tyson Foods is laying off a certain type of rooster from its U.S. chicken business after a surprising discovery that eggs fertilized by the male bird hatch less often, resulting in fewer chickens. The world’s largest meat producer by sales will install a replacement across its breeding program by this fall […] Read more
UCVM takes on poultry diagnostics
Reading Time: < 1 minute The University of Calgary faculty of veterinary medicine (UCVM) and Alberta’s four poultry producer boards are partnering on a poultry diagnostic system. Formerly provided by Poultry Health Services, the program can test for diseases such as avian flu, E. coli, and other pathogens and microbes. Poultry Health Services of Airdrie, which serves the commercial poultry […] Read more
Brazil’s BRF gets nod to export wings to Canada
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian food processor BRF said on Tuesday Canada has authorized chicken wing exports from two of its plants located in top farm state Mato Grosso. BRF has been seeking to sell more products to Canada to strengthen its position in developed markets and also shore up competition against domestic rivals […] Read more
Risk of human spread of H5N8 bird flu deemed low
Seven people infected but asymptomatic, WHO says
Geneva | Reuters — The risk of human-to-human spread of the H5N8 strain of bird flu appears low after it was identified for the first time worldwide in farm workers in Russia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. A separate influenza strain, H1N1, that emerged from pigs and spread rapidly worldwide among humans […] Read more
Six die in liquid nitrogen leak at U.S. poultry plant
Atlanta | Reuters — At least six people were killed and 12 others hospitalized on Thursday in liquid nitrogen leak at a northeastern Georgia poultry plant, officials said. Five people died at the Foundation Food Group plant in Gainesville, about 35 km northeast of Atlanta, before they could be taken to a hospital, and one […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
