Chicago | Reuters — U.S. farm and health officials are racing to assess the threat that a type of bird flu never before seen in the country poses to humans and poultry, employing emergency plans drawn up in the wake of a devastating outbreak in birds last year. The federal government sprang into action on […] Read more
U.S. deploys new bird flu plan to protect humans, poultry
U.S. finds first avian flu in poultry since June
Chicago | Reuters –– An Indiana turkey flock has been infected with a deadly type of bird flu in the first new case of the disease in U.S. poultry since June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday. The flock in Dubois County, Indiana, was infected with a highly pathogenic (“high-path”) strain of H7N8, […] Read more
Russia-Turkey tensions stymie new wheat deals
Reuters — Political tension between Russia and Turkey has put a brake on new wheat deals between the two countries and created uncertainty about existing agreements, traders said Thursday. Relations between Russia, one of the world’s largest wheat exporters, and Turkey, the largest buyer of Russian wheat, have quickly deteriorated after Turkey shot down a […] Read more
Farmers. Do you know your customer? Try this pop quiz
Alberta exported a record $9.7 billion of agri-food products last year — but where did they go?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers are being urged these days to know their customers, so here’s a pop quiz based on the province’s latest agri-food export stats. 1) The U.S. has long been the No. 1 importer of Alberta agri-food products (raw commodities and processed products). What country is No. 2 and did its purchases go up or down […] Read more
Trade mission to Kazakhstan
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry is leading a trade mission to Kazakhstan with a focus on livestock and genetics. “Kazakhstan has identified its livestock sector as a priority” and wants to increase beef exports to Russia, said trade officer Aarij Bashir. The mission will include meetings with government officials and pre-qualified buyers of live cattle and […] Read more
Iowa declares state of emergency over avian flu
Reuters — Iowa Governor Terry Branstad declared a state of emergency on Friday due to a rapidly expanding avian flu outbreak. State agriculture officials on Friday announced four more poultry farms — a million-bird commercial egg laying operation and three turkey farms — have initially tested positive for an H5 strain of the virus. “While […] Read more
SW Ont. pork plant to morph into turkey processor
The vacant pork slaughterhouse formerly known as Great Lakes Specialty Meats is now expected to restart as a turkey processing plant by year’s end. Meat processor Sofina Foods bought the 78,000-square foot plant and property at Mitchell, Ont., about 60 km west of Kitchener, for $4.77 million last September, after Great Lakes entered receivership in June. […] Read more
California turkey farm quarantined after H5N8 detected
Chicago | Reuters –– A California turkey farm has been quarantined after confirmation of the first case of an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza strain in the Pacific Northwest, and in a commercial flock, the U.S. government said. The news on Saturday came just weeks after China banned U.S. poultry after an […] Read more
Cargill to shutter U.S. turkey plant
Reuters — Agricultural conglomerate Cargill said Friday it will shutter its turkey and cooked meats processing plant in Springfield, Mo., and move the operations to Nebraska City, Nebraska, and Waco, Texas. Cargill said it will close its Springfield plant, which employs 118 people, on March 11. The decision came about after Cargill assessed its turkey […] Read more
Two Fraser Valley farms quarantined with H5 avian flu
Federal officials have quarantined a turkey farm and a broiler breeder farm in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley after both were confirmed with outbreaks of an H5 strain of avian influenza. The quarantines, announced Tuesday, follow death losses of “over half” of the 11,000 birds at the turkey farm near Abbotsford, and of about 1,000 of […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
