Report credits much of the success to keeping Canada-U.S. border open, which helped companies keep goods flowing
After a year of the pandemic, the ability of Canada’s food system to continue to function while providing generally affordable food has been proven, observed two agricultural economists. In the opener to a special edition of the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, James Deaton of the University of Guelph and Brady J. Deaton of the […] Read moreTag Archives COVID-19 virus
American packers slow to vaccinate
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — COVID-19 vaccines are making their way into the arms of American meat and agriculture workers, but companies and union officials say progress needs to be faster after coronavirus outbreaks idled slaughterhouses and sickened thousands of workers. Vaccinating food workers could help prevent further production disruptions that sent meat prices soaring in […] Read more
Feedlots, consumers paid beef price
Consumers paid more for beef, processors and retailers increased their profits and feedlot owners lost millions in 2020 because of COVID-19. A paper published through the University of Calgary Simpson Centre, written by project co-ordinator Karen Spencer, indicates feedlots lost an estimated $379 million in gross revenues for 2020 compared to the previous year, reducing […] Read more
Foreign workers part of our agricultural landscape
In Canada, we rely on relationships with workers from other countries to keep our nation running. In agriculture, they represent 50,000 to 60,000 of our annual workforce. Ensuring they are safe and welcome ensures our access to a domestic food supply. There is a role for government here to ensure Canadian farms are as safe […] Read more
Birds become welcome hobby during COVID-19
The experience of bird watching was introduced gradually as pandemic restrictions took hold and life slowed down
I never thought I would become one of those people who sat by the window and watched birds coming and going in the tree in the front yard. The flowering crabapple is perfectly positioned outside the living room window for just such an activity. It’s so perfect, we have set two armchairs next to the […] Read more
Prairie program set up to help foreign workers
The initiative includes providing information sessions for workers about illness prevention and personal protection
Fourteen groups across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have partnered in a nearly $2 million project primarily aimed at helping temporary foreign agricultural workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Obviously, the safety of these people is very important,” said Fariborz Birjandian, chief executive officer of the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, which is helping to lead the initiative. […] Read more
COVID worsens world hunger crisis
Canadian Foodgrains Bank says pandemic has been as much an economic crisis as health crisis in the developing world
People in the developed world are eagerly awaiting vaccination dates and yearning for the pandemic shackles to come off. But for hundreds of millions of people in the developing world, where most of humanity lives, little has changed in terms of fear, anxiety and struggle. The western world might soon be back to “normal,” but […] Read more
Safety measures for food workers called lacking
Union also says government should find ways to employ Canadians in the domestic food sector rather than encourage more foreign workers
A union representing thousands of Canadian food workers says “consistency and enforcement” remain a problem when it comes to responses for its members during the COVID-19 pandemic. Derek Johnstone, special assistant to the national president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union of Canada (UFCW), told a parliamentary committee on Feb. 18 that the […] Read more
China’s struggle with ASF variants may hike pork imports
Canada posted a record for pork exports in 2020, and as new variants of African swine fever spread in China and elsewhere in Asia there is a good chance off-shore pork movement could again be strong in 2021. Canada exported $5.09 billion of pork in 2020, up 20 percent from the $4.25 billion exported in […] Read more
Regulatory agility called critical to ag innovation in Canada
One of the lessons of the pandemic and response to it by governments and regulatory agencies is that regulatory agility is possible. COVID-19 vaccines have been approved with record speed, and from what I can find, the government says that the same vigour of process has also been applied. The only point missing is long-term […] Read more
