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US: Investigate and Prosecute Those Responsible for Torture
President Obama opens viral front in health war
Macon Phillips, White House director of new media, offers a tour of his team’s handiwork, in a pre-dawn blog post: “The first set of videos addresses a wide scope of topics and debunks some of those common myths:
— CEA Chair Christina Romer details how health insurance reform will impact small businesses.
— Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes tackles a nasty rumor about euthanasia and clearly describes how reform helps families.
— Matt Flavin, the White House's director of veterans and wounded warrior policy, clears the air about Veteran's benefits.
— Kavita Patel, M.D., a doctor serving in the White House's Office of Public Engagement, explains that health care rationing is happening right now and how reform gives control back to patients and doctors.
— Robert Kocher, M.D., a doctor serving on the National Economic Council, debunks the myth that health insurance reform will be financed by cutting Medicare benefits.
— In a video first released last week, Linda Douglass from the White House Health Reform Office addresses fears about the end of our private insurance system and reiterates that if you like your current plan you can keep it.”Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/25972.html#ixzz0Nn8VLSXK
'Radical rethink' needed on food
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said while Britain was more self-sufficient now than it was in the 1930s and 1950s, everyone had to start thinking ahead about how to produce more using less water and less fertiliser.
last year's sudden jump in the price of food and oil, which most fertilisers are based on, was a "wake-up call".
Cow colostrum could help arrest spread of H1N1
On being asked about the effectiveness of the solution, another task force member, Vinod Marathe, said that it starts taking effect within an hour after it is consumed. "It quickly builds up your immunity system and the effect only gets stronger. The antibodies start functioning immediately," he added. He also clarified that the solution was not advisable for those who were lactose intolerant.
Flu drugs 'unhelpful' in children
Work in the British Medical Journal shows Tamiflu and Relenza rarely prevent complications in children with seasonal flu, yet carry side effects.
Although they did not test this in the current swine flu pandemic, the authors say these drugs are unlikely to help children who catch the H1N1 virus.
China should break up India: Chinese strategist
The proposed dams will make a lot of money for the Burmese junta and other large "players". But it will destroy the pristine environment, wildlife habitats, and homes of poor ethnic minority groups. Without much doubt it will bring in the Burman army to the area; and they will kill, rape and burn villages whilst forcing people to work as labourers for them. Many more thousands will flee into refugee camps in Thailand.
Saving Our Bees: Implications of Habitat Loss
Winfree will present a study that combines data from over 50 published studies of bee population sizes and diversity. She found that in areas of extreme fragmentation due to human development, animal grazing, logging and crop fields, bee populations were smaller and the number of bee species was lower than in natural or minimally disturbed areas.
Not milk: The ingredient behind the dairy crisis
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In this edition – July 31, 2009
Obstacles on the road to recovery for hog industry
Top crop for cherries, but price is not
Ethnic beef market expands
Organic growers question study
Farmer company first with Canola-based biodiesel
CWB has good year, less optimistic about 2009-10
Record use of producer cars in 2008-09
Hail claims dip
Environment enhancements move ahead
1. Obstacles on the road to recovery for hog industry
by Anne Cote
There's no relief in sight for Canadian hog producers as prices continue to fall.
Provincial pork councils all across the country say their producers are in a crisis situation. Statistics Canada's latest report on hog prices indicated the hog index fell 8.3 per cent from June to July, "the second consecutive month-over-month decrease since July 2008."
Wilma Jaffray, chair of the Ontario Pork Council, says second quarter results are usually positive, not negative, as consumers buy more pork during the summer barbecue season.
Jaffray agrees with the Statistics Canada assessment that fears resulting from the term "swine flu" used in relation to the H1N1 virus resulted in several importing countries closing their borders to North American pork. The "swine flu" tag will cost some producers their livelihood.
"This was too much after three years of losses," Jaffray says.
Karl Kynoch at the Manitoba Pork Council has been fighting to keep Manitoba's pork industry alive since 2008 when the Manitoba government legislated a permanent moratorium on the construction of new hog barns.
The province of Quebec hasn't fared any better. Jean-Guy Vincent, president of the Federation des producteurs de porcs du Quebec, says consumers in his province haven't stopped eating pork but the "strong negative reaction from countries where we export didn’t help." Quebec producers had just begun to recover from the outbreak of the animal circo virus in 2005-06 that forced many pork producers to quit.
In July 2009 the Canadian Pork Council announced a proposal to support hog producers across the country. Their plan calls for the creation of a federally backed H1N1 Recovery Plan Loan, adjustments to the Advance Payments Program emergency advances and the establishment of a Hog Farm Transition Payment Program.
The loan program includes a 10 to 15 year payback schedule and suggested emergency advance payments of $30 per hog on every hog shipped in the first quarter of 2009.
The National Pork Production Council in the U.S. reacted swiftly to the proposal. NPPC president Don Butler declared, "such a subsidy program would have a lethal impact on U.S. pork producers. NPPC is extremely concerned about such a program, which will shift financial pain to U.S. producers, who already have lost an average of more than $21 per hog since October 2007."
Jaffray blamed the downturn in the global economy for the divisions between countries over pork.
"Recession always bring protectionist stances to the forefront."
Misunderstanding is simply one more obstacle Canadian pork producers will face on the road to recovery.
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2. Top crop for cherries, but price is not
by Judie Steeves
Although B.C. cherry orchardists are harvesting a full crop of top quality cherries this year, prices are some of the worst in 20 years, according to some growers.
Greg Norton, president of the Okanagan-Kootenay Cherry Growers' Association says the problem is every market in the world has been flooded with a huge crop of the sweet fruits from Washington State for the past three weeks. Growers in Washington have the largest crop ever this year, resulting in a glut on the market and thus, plunging prices.
"The Canadian farm family won’t make money on this crop. It's pretty grim," he commented.
Even though Okanagan Valley growers produce top quality cherries, the prices tend to be set by the first cherries to hit the market, and U.S. fruit ripens earlier than Canadian, explains Norton.
"The Canadian consumer can fix this by asking for B.C. fruit. That way, they're investing in their own community and their own country."
Peter Austin, Canadian sales director for B.C. Tree Fruits, says in addition to the glut of cherries on world markets, exchange rates have fallen, dampening prices for the Canadian crop. The recession isn't helping either, as Austin points out consumers are less eager to spend money, which is impacting demand for the cherries.
B.C. is the country's largest cherry producer with some 3,000 acres growing the small, sweet fruit. By comparison, south of the border, a single 1,000-acre cherry orchard is not unusual, and it's estimated growers there will harvest 22 million, 20-pound cartons this year, double last year's production.
Less than one million cartons will be packed in B.C., which is still double the crops of recent years. A good growing season and increased cherry acreage has led to the big crop.
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3. Ethnic beef market expands
by Allison Finnamore
Beef producers are getting a hand managing growth in the ethnic food market.
According to John Baker, executive director of trade marketing at the Beef Information Centre, the greatest challenge facing processors of kosher and halal products is the procurement of beef.
"Religious requirements begin at slaughter," Baker says in a news release. "So processors must find a packer willing to adjust their slaughter facilities to accommodate the strict standards of religious law."
The production of kosher and halal products is usually done by specialized processors due to their relatively small market. Both markets are growing -- there are over six million followers of Judasim in North America, more than in any other region of the world. Similarly, there are eight million Muslim consumers in North America -- a group expected to double in the next 10 years.
Through its Partners Program, BIC arranges partnerships that link packing plants with ethnic food processors -- partnerships essential for specialized companies to build their business with Canadian beef.
Al Safa Halal is the largest and most recognized halal retail brand in the United States and Canada. Its challenge was finding a federally-inspected, HACCP-approved facility prepared to slaughter beef in accordance with strict Islamic law. With assistance from the Partners Program, Al Safa Halal developed a partnership with a company to supply the Canadian beef necessary to fulfill its requirements.
Today, all of Al Safa Halal’s raw beef product is sourced from Canadian beef and sold throughout Canada and the United States.
"Helping Canadian processors forge these relationships is an important function of BIC's Partners Program," Baker says. "Ultimately, everyone benefits -- the packer, the processor and the Canadian beef industry."
BIC's efforts to maximize demand for Canadian beef and optimize the value of Canadian beef products is funded in part by cattle producers through the National Beef Cattle Check-Off.
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4. Organic growers question study
by Rae Groeneveld
A new study commissioned by the British government's Food Standards Agency (FSA) suggests there's no real difference in the nutrition of organic food when compared to conventionally produced food.
The study was carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine whose team of researchers, led by Alan Dangour, reviewed all papers published over the past 50 years that related to the nutrient content and health differences between organic and conventional food. This systematic review is said to be the most comprehensive study in this area that has been carried out to date.
"Ensuring people have accurate information is absolutely essential in allowing us all to make informed choices about the food we eat. This study does not mean that people should not eat organic food. What it shows is that there is little, if any, nutritional difference between organic and conventionally produced food and that there is no evidence of additional health benefits from eating organic food," says Gill Fine, FSA director of Consumer Choice and Dietary Health.
But it's not that simple according to the Canadian Organic Growers (COG). Executive director Laura Telford says the study misses the point that organic production is more than just about trying to produce a very nutritious food.
"I don't think that consumers are taking this report very seriously because I don't think that very many of them buy organic food because of its nutritional value."
Telford says there are two types of consumers -– one who buys organic food because of its environmental benefits and financial benefits to the farmer, and the other consumer likes the added healthiness of the food.
"The health-type consumer, I think, are largely purchasing it because of the absence of certain toxic chemicals and food additives."
The COG also takes issue with how the analysis was put together. The organization says compiling so many reports from such a long period of time means data was used that probably isn't really reliable.
"They're only looking at one tiny piece of the organic benefit and the organic industry has been careful not to depict organic as a health claim. From our point of view organic stands on its environmental benefits and its benefits to farmers."
Telford doesn't believe this study will have any major impact on organic food sales.
"I think Canadian consumers are more sophisticated and understand the bigger issues," concluded Telford.
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5. Farmer company first with Canola-based biodiesel
by Rae Groeneveld
A group of farmers from the Foam Lake, Sask., area had an idea over 15 years ago, to turn their canola into biodiesel. Through a persistent and dedicated approach, they've now become the first company to produce the bio-friendly fuel on a commercial scale.
Milligan Biotech has officially opened a 10 million-litre biodiesel plant at Foam Lake.
"The game plan from the beginning was do it right or don't do it at all," recalled company founder and Milligan Biotech executive manager Zenneth Faye.
"We wanted to have biodiesel production in Foam Lake and we have it here today."
Throughout the development of the business, Milligan Biotech has focused on producing the highest quality canola-based biodiesel possible. They've worked with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, University of Saskatchewan, the Alberta Renewable Diesel Demonstration project and many others to test and verify the effectiveness of their product.
"We use non-food grade canola, that is canola not suitable for the food industry," explains Faye, who added normally eight to 10 per cent of the prairie canola crop can't be used for food purposes because of green-seed problems or because it heated while in storage.
The Government of Canada, through Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC), has committed $7 million to help the company take its biodiesel process from a demonstration facility to a commercial operation. The SDTC is an arms-length foundation that provides bridge funding to businesses. A key focus is support for projects that establish first-of-a-kind, large-scale facilities for the production of next generation renewable fuels.
"The contribution by SDTC will allow us to continue with our goal for made-in-Canada Technology in the fast growing biodiesel industry. Our value added model assists producers with marketing opportunities while bringing much needed revitalization to rural communities," says Faye.
The goal is to now grow the operation in Foam Lake as demand for the bio-friendly fuel expands in Canada. The ultimate goal is to have a 150 million litre biodiesel production plant, plus a network of similar facilities across Western Canada.
Many provinces are implementing mandates for their diesel fuel to contain certain amounts of biodiesel, and the federal government has a biodiesel mandate that is to take effect in 2012. Milligan Biotech sees expansion occurring in both Foam Lake and across the prairies.
"Once the oil companies start using biodiesel in their diesel fuel blends, demand will be there for the biodiesel. We've situated ourselves to be first at the gate and when that time comes we will have to expand our operations here," says Glen Helgason, chairman of Milligan Biotech.
To get the company to this point, over $15 million dollars has already been invested. Twenty-eight new jobs have been created in the town of Foam Lake. Milligan Biotech also offers a range of other products including a penetrating oil, diesel fuel conditioner and road dust suppressant.
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6. CWB has good year, less optimistic about 2009-10
by Rae Groeneveld
The Canadian Wheat Board says it had a very good year in 2008-09, moving the second largest crop in the past nine years, producing the second largest returns to growers in the history of the CWB.
Prairie farmers grew 25.5 million tonnes of all types of wheat last year, which was the highest since 1996. Barley production at 11.2 million tonnes was also very high. The CWB exported about 18.5 million tonnes of wheat, durum and barley during the crop year, the highest volume since 1999-2000 and up over a million tonnes from 2008.
CWB president and chief executive officer Ian White says they faced a big challenge in trying to move such a large crop grown in 2008, but with new customers coming to the market and better transportation services, they were able to meet their sales commitments.
"We also found our ability to move a large volume of grain to these customers was easier than could have ever been anticipated as the economic down-turn freed up rail cars and ocean vessels that allowed us to quickly respond to market opportunities," White says.CWB net revenue in 2008-09 is estimated at more than $6 billion, second only to last year's $7.2 billion. Although returns to growers are down, White was pleased with the average prices that growers received. Durum pooled prices, before freight deductions, was around $10 per bushel and malt barley pooled returns averaged $6.84 per bushel before deductions, the highest malt barley values in the history of the CWB.
Despite the good results, the CWB is worried about the 2009-10 crop year.
"Too cold for comfort. I think that is a fair bit of the story for the current crop year we are in," says White referring to the cold conditions that have hampered this year's prairie crop production.
"Cool temperatures for most of the growing season has meant that this crop continues to be late and continues to struggle."
The CWB now estimates this year's crop will produce 16 million tonnes of wheat, 4.2 million tonnes of durum and 8.6 million tonnes of barley, which is about 20 per cent smaller than in 2008.
Dryness is the other major reason for the reduced production estimates. White says there's only a small area around Winnipeg, Man., and Medicine Hat, Alta., that have had above normal precipitation this growing season.
"The rest of the prairies have suffered either somewhat lower rainfall or significantly lower rainfall than normal."
With a below average and late crop in the fields, CWB officials are worrying about the quality that producers may have to market, particularly if an early frost occurs.
"The issue for farmers now will be what happens with the rest of the season -- do we get a prolonged summer and warmer fall? And when will the first frost that might hit the crop, be apparent?”
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7. Record use of producer cars in 2008-09
by Rae Groeneveld
An 18-year-old record was broken this year as prairie producers continued their trend of loading hopper cars with grain for export.
About 2,800 producers loaded 12,447 cars to move their wheat and barley to port this crop year. The previous record of 12,124 cars was achieved in 1990-91.
"Farmers are looking for ways to reduce the expense of grain handling," said CWB board chair Larry Hill, in a news release.
"Shipping by producer car means you don't have to drive to an elevator or pay for its services,” Hill says.
Producer cars are railway hopper cars that farmers can order to load themselves at a rail siding or producer-loading facility. Shipping grain by producer cars can save farmers $800 to $1,200 per car, depending on the producer's location.
The CWB believes the abandonment of rail lines and the consolidation of the prairie elevator network has led to the increased usage of producer cars. The smallest number of producer cars used was around 3,000 in 1998-99. Since then the numbers have been climbing, which the CWB also attributes to a growing number of short-line railways operating on the prairies.
Under the Canada Grain Act, farmers are entitled to order producer cars to ship their CWB and non-board grains. In recent years, very few cars have been used for non-board grains due to requirements for sales agreements and terminal authorization to be in place before the grain is moved to port.
For board grains, the CWB helps administer the cars by facilitating sales, gaining terminal authorization at port, working with the Canadian Grain Commission to approve applications, and securing car supply from the railways.
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8. Hail claims dip
by Allison Finnamore
Hail claims across the Prairies are below average this year, making it one of the slowest years on record.
However, producers aren't breathing a sign of relief yet. Based on past experience, the situation has the potential to change quickly. In 1994, claims were low in Saskatchewan, but big storms in August took claim totals to above normal levels.
As crops mature, they are much more susceptible to irreversible hail damage. Since crops in many regions are behind normal for development, they will be in the field longer and susceptible to late hailstorms.
A number of hail insurance companies have been using the low level of hail activity to concentrate on the training of crop adjusters.
In Alberta, about 600 hail claims have been filed by producers. About half of these are new claims that have come over the past two weeks, excluding the numbers filed as part of the Crop Insurance endorsement in Alberta. Last year at this time, 3,450 straight hail claims had been filed in the province.
The new claims have come from the Lethbridge area and east of Edmonton. Some claims, such as in canola that is still flowering, are being deferred until the crop is more mature.
Adjusters are concentrating on appraising low-yielding crops that farmers want to put to a use other than harvesting.
In Saskatchewan, hail claims total about 2,050, an increase of about 400 from two weeks ago. Last year at this time, the claim total was approaching 10,500.
A storm July 17 hit the Shellbrook, Prince Albert and Melfort region and resulted in a number of new claims.
In Manitoba, nearly 800 hail claims have been filed, an increase of about 250 from two weeks ago. Although this total is well below average, there have been slower years in recent memory. Last year at this time, there were nearly 1,600 claims.
There were several relatively small storms with relatively light damage around the Russell-Silverton area on July 17, the Homewood-Sperling area on July 27, the Lowe Farm area on July 27 and the Roland area on July 28.
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9. Environment enhancements move ahead
by Allison Finnamore
The governments of Canada and British Columbia have partnered to deliver up to $10 million to enhance environmental sustainability for producers.
The Environmental Farm Plan and the Beneficial Management Practice are broad-based, voluntary and producer-driven programs aimed at identifying and reducing environmental risks on farms. The programs will focus on water quality, water use and greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately enabling producers to ensure cleaner, healthier and more sustainable land.
EFP and BMP are funded by Growing Forward, a federal, provincial and territorial framework that is delivering $1.3 billion to Canadian farm families from 2008 to 2013. British Columbia’s share under these agreements will total $78 million. These programs will be delivered by the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands through the B.C. Agriculture Research and Development Corporation.
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