Turkeys. (Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Second southwestern Ontario farm hit with avian flu

Separate H5N1 strains hit separate turkey farms

A second turkey operation in southwestern Ontario has been confirmed and quarantined with highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza — but of a strain separate from the one seen in an outbreak in the same region a day earlier. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement Monday its National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease […] Read more

File photo of a U.S. veterinary medical officer examining tissue samples for avian influenza virus. (Suzanne Deblois photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

High-path avian flu drops into southwestern Ontario

H5N1 confirmed on poultry farm

Ontario’s feather sector is moving to a “heightened biosecurity advisory” after highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed this weekend in a poultry flock. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Sunday it had confirmed high-path H5N1 in a flock in southern Ontario, a day after the Ontario Feather Board Command Centre (FBCC) published a report of […] Read more



Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA’s logo on a tower in Jundiai, northwest of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, on June 1, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)

JBS says U.S. domestic and international businesses to remain strong

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian meatpacker JBS, which operates multiple food processing facilities in the U.S. and one of Canada’s largest beef packing plants, said its North American operations will continue to drive performance. Speaking at a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results, management said JBS will benefit from strong U.S. domestic demand for […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Maple Leaf to further consolidate Ontario poultry packing

Schomberg, Ont. plant to close by end of 2023

Maple Leaf Foods’ ongoing plan to consolidate its fresh poultry processing at London, Ont. now also includes the work from two more existing plants it owns north of Toronto. Maple Leaf said Wednesday that in “pursuing further optimization opportunities,” it will shift poultry volumes now processed at Bradford and nearby Schomberg to the new London […] Read more

A customer dines at a Burger King outlet in Shanghai on June 27, 2005. (File photo: Reuters/Ming Ming)

Tim Hortons, Burger King parent to hike prices

BK pulling Whopper off discount menu

Reuters — Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International said on Tuesday that it stripped its most famous sandwich, the Whopper, from discount menus and will raise menu prices again this year as to offset higher costs. U.S.-listed shares of the company rose more than three per cent after it topped results estimates for the fourth […] Read more


File photo of chicks on a genetic map of a chicken. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Second Nova Scotia poultry operation hit with avian flu

U.S. also books outbreaks in two states

A second farm in western Nova Scotia has been hit with highly pathogenic avian influenza in commercial birds, further expanding containment measures in that province. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Monday it confirmed high-path H5N1 on Wednesday last week in birds at a mixed farm in the area, where operations include poultry and poultry […] Read more

Even a non-farming Californian ought to question why less “cruelty” should produce fewer baby pigs and more dead sows. – Steve Dittmer.

Looking forward at progress

Free Market Reflections with Steve Dittmer

Sometimes in crazy times, it’s good to back up and look at the cards showing and your hole cards. Economically speaking, inflation is one key factor. A key inflation driver is fossil fuel costs. It enters in every phase of beef production beyond our magic photosynthesis machine — the cow. As both major producers and […] Read more


(Scott Bauer photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

High-path H5N1 avian flu hits Nova Scotia turkey farm

Trade curbs in place; U.S. also has an outbreak in Indiana

Updated, Feb. 10 — Highly pathogenic avian flu has again landed in domestic birds in Atlantic Canada — but this time on a commercial turkey farm, leading other countries to halt imports from Canada’s feather sectors for now. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency last week filed a report with the World Organization for Animal Health […] Read more

File photo of Canada geese in a park in Nova Scotia. (Andyqwe/iStock/Getty Images)

No trade bans expected from Nova Scotia bird flu findings

High-path H5N1 a 'non-poultry detection'

A new outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a backyard flock in central Nova Scotia isn’t expected to affect international trade in Canada’s feather sectors. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Tuesday confirmed a high-path H5N1 strain affecting birds on the property, describing it Thursday as a “non-poultry detection” among animals not produced […] Read more