Experts speaking at the virtual Toronto Global Forum say a meaningful economic recovery to the COVID-19 pandemic should emphasize the need for technology in the agricultural sector. Alison Sunstrum, founder of CNSRV-X, said she hopes there is a digital response to the pandemic. “COVID-19 has put us on a digital fast track, farmers are going […] Read more
Tag Archives COVID-19 virus
Global reach allowed company to learn COVID lessons early
Being a global company meant that Roquette had to deal with COVID-19 almost as soon as it appeared. With three production plants in China, the pandemic was a reality the company had to quickly adapt to. That turned out to be a good thing. “Our China team was hit very early,” said Dominique Baumann, France-based […] Read more
COVID outbreak over at B.C. beef plant
A COVID-19 outbreak at the J&L Beef meat processing facility in Delta, B.C., has been declared over by Fraser Health, the health authority in the region. Thirteen employees were found to be infected as of Oct. 18. At that time Fraser Health said there was transmission of the illness among staff at the plant. It […] Read more
Farmers’ rights at elevators collide with COVID-19 rules
Grain elevator operators say they are seeking ways to ensure weigh-scale readouts are provided when grain is delivered
A farmer protection has been lost at some grain elevators — ones that don’t have weigh-scale readouts in the truck unloading zone. It’s not a deliberate act by grain companies but a product of COVID-19 restrictions, which require non-elevator people to stay outside the elevator office. Manitoba’s main farm lobby group insists that weigh-scale readings […] Read more
Trade mission restrictions throttle market information flow
Commodity and trade groups are feeling the effect of not being able to conduct in-person intelligence gathering because of COVID-19 rules
Few organizations have been more directly impacted by COVID-19 than the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership. STEP used to organize 40 to 45 national and international trade missions every year. “Since the pandemic has occurred we haven’t had one international in-person mission,” said STEP president Chris Dekker. The organization has hosted more than 50 virtual […] Read more
Direct sales fare OK during COVID pandemic
Prairie producers who decided to sell their produce directly to consumers this summer say the experience was positive
It was a summer like no other, but direct-to-consumer farmers say they mostly kept up with demand and made new regular customers. “Things went well this summer,” said Mark Hoimyr, a Gladmar, Sask., beef producer. “The high sales that we saw earlier in the spring tapered off after people’s concerns about being able to access […] Read more
COVID-19 hits Manitoba poultry plant
A poultry plant in southeastern Manitoba has 27 workers with COVID-19. One employee who contracted the virus has died. The cases are at the Exceldor plant in Blumenort, Man., southeast of Winnipeg. Exceldor is a Quebec co-operative that now controls Granny’s Poultry, a well-known brand in Manitoba. The first case of COVID-19 was detected at […] Read more
COVID reported at B.C. meat plant
An outbreak of COVID-19 has been reported at the J & L Beef Ltd. meat processing facility in Surrey, B.C. The Fraser Health public health department said Oct. 18 that 13 employees at the plant tested positive. It became aware of a potential outbreak after one employee tested positive Oct. 8, and found evidence of […] Read more
COVID uncertainty remains in global markets
The impact of COVID-19’s second wave is continuing to cause uncertainty in global trade markets. According to the World Trade Organization, between October 2019 and May 2020, G20 economies implemented 154 new trade or related measures, finding 95 to be trade-facilitating and 59 as trade-restrictive. “In the early stages of the pandemic, several of the […] Read more
Fababean buyer shuts down
The world’s largest fababean buyer is out of the market for the short term as it chews through excess supplies. COVID-19 caused a sharp reduction in Egyptian consumption of the crop, said Mufaddal Saifuddin, a trader with Mufaddal for Food Industries in Egypt. He told delegates attending Pulses 2.0, a virtual conference hosted by the […] Read more
