Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s top health officer on Sunday expressed concern over higher consumption of alcohol and junk food during the coronavirus epidemic, suggesting this could be a sign of worsening mental health. The total number of Canadians killed by the coronavirus edged up by 0.9 per cent to 7,773 from 7,703 on Saturday, […] Read more
Tam concerned over alcohol, junk food use during pandemic
Pandemic may strain rural community resources, panel warns
Enthusiasm for telecommuting could later benefit rural areas, if 'digital divide' can be bridged
Reading Time: 3 minutes The COVID-19 pandemic, and Canada’s response to it, have highlighted how rural communities need different strategies than their urban counterparts to provide social services on which the public relies. The Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph hosted a virtual panel in May to discuss COVID-19’s social impacts, in which researchers from a variety […] Read more
COVID concerns weigh on chicken farmers, processors
Sales crashed on lack of foodservice business
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ottawa — Chicken Farmers of Canada say they’ve faced a “sharp decline” in sales as a result of a significant drop in food services, which represents roughly 40 per cent of their market. CFC chair Benoît Fontaine warned federal MPs as much during a virtual meeting of the Commons standing committee on agriculture and agri-food […] Read more
Grain exports continue strong out of Thunder Bay
COVID-19 leads to increased demand, reduced oil traffic by rail
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The Port of Thunder Bay reported another strong grain handling month in May, as more than 1.1 million tonnes of Canadian grain and oilseeds moved through the harbour on the northern shores of Lake Superior during the month. Increased demand from many countries stockpiling grain amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic was cited as […] Read more
Dutch to cull mink at farms hit by COVID-19 outbreak
Order follows mink-to-human virus transmissions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Amsterdam | Reuters — The Dutch government on Wednesday ordered mink culled at nine farms where animals have been infected with the coronavirus, fearing they could form a reservoir of disease infecting humans after the country’s current outbreak has passed. “Clearing the infected farms is in the interest of both human health and animal health,” […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle sag as wholesale beef prices retreat
Slaughter counts rising 'much faster than anticipated'
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell on Tuesday, with the August contract hitting its lowest in nearly a month as the U.S. slaughter pace picked up, sending more beef into retail channels, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) June live cattle settled down three cents at 95.3 cents/lb., while most-active August ended […] Read more
With beer taps off, malt barley demand down
No significant drop in barley acres expected
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Declining beer consumption due to the COVID-19 pandemic will also lead to reduced demand for the malt barley to brew it — but acreage to the crop is unlikely to see much adjustment on the Prairies. “I don’t think there’s any question — without sporting events, and festivals, and concerts – that beer […] Read more
Editor’s Note: More different, more the same
Reading Time: 2 minutes COVID-19 has brought our differences into the spotlight. For all sorts of reasons, no two farms have been affected in exactly the same way. And yet… Sometimes it’s because the commodities they produce are different. Obviously, anyone with hogs has some different concerns than grain farmers. Sometimes too it’s because of differences in how we […] Read more
Olymel pork plant workers take slaughter into OT
Over 800 volunteered for added shifts with charitable twist, packer says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Workers at three Olymel hog slaughter plants in Quebec volunteered for overtime shifts over the weekend to help clear the province’s backlog of market-weight hogs, the company said Saturday. Sollio’s meat packing arm said over 800 workers at its slaughter plants at Yamachiche and St-Esprit and the former F. Menard plant it now owns at […] Read more
Sollio outlines pandemic recovery plan for food sector
Support sought for automation, digitization, telecommunications
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa — One of Canada’s largest agri-food companies has laid out a five-point industry recovery plan for federal politicians to consider. During a meeting Tuesday of the Commons standing committee on finance, the president of Quebec-based Sollio Co-operative Group shared plans to limit consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the agrifood supply chain. Sollio employs […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
