Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Political tension between Russia and Turkey has put a brake on new wheat deals between the two countries and created uncertainty about existing agreements, traders said Thursday. Relations between Russia, one of the world’s largest wheat exporters, and Turkey, the largest buyer of Russian wheat, have quickly deteriorated after Turkey shot down a […] Read more
Russia-Turkey tensions stymie new wheat deals
Iowa declares state of emergency over avian flu
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Iowa Governor Terry Branstad declared a state of emergency on Friday due to a rapidly expanding avian flu outbreak. State agriculture officials on Friday announced four more poultry farms — a million-bird commercial egg laying operation and three turkey farms — have initially tested positive for an H5 strain of the virus. “While […] Read more
SW Ont. pork plant to morph into turkey processor
Reading Time: 2 minutes The vacant pork slaughterhouse formerly known as Great Lakes Specialty Meats is now expected to restart as a turkey processing plant by year’s end. Meat processor Sofina Foods bought the 78,000-square foot plant and property at Mitchell, Ont., about 60 km west of Kitchener, for $4.77 million last September, after Great Lakes entered receivership in June. […] Read more
California turkey farm quarantined after H5N8 detected
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters –– A California turkey farm has been quarantined after confirmation of the first case of an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza strain in the Pacific Northwest, and in a commercial flock, the U.S. government said. The news on Saturday came just weeks after China banned U.S. poultry after an […] Read more
Cargill to shutter U.S. turkey plant
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Agricultural conglomerate Cargill said Friday it will shutter its turkey and cooked meats processing plant in Springfield, Mo., and move the operations to Nebraska City, Nebraska, and Waco, Texas. Cargill said it will close its Springfield plant, which employs 118 people, on March 11. The decision came about after Cargill assessed its turkey […] Read more
Australia’s approach to grain co-ops
Owned by 4,200 farmers, the giant CBH Group adds a whole new dimension to phrases like value-adding and diversification
Reading Time: 6 minutes Given the demise of the prairie pools and the recent sales of a number of Canada’s new-generation co-operative grain terminals, it would be understandable if many Canadian farmers, grain traders, farm advisers and policy makers believe co-operative grain marketing ventures are simply not viable in today’s world. Just don’t try and tell that to Western […] Read more
Two Fraser Valley farms quarantined with H5 avian flu
Reading Time: 2 minutes Federal officials have quarantined a turkey farm and a broiler breeder farm in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley after both were confirmed with outbreaks of an H5 strain of avian influenza. The quarantines, announced Tuesday, follow death losses of “over half” of the 11,000 birds at the turkey farm near Abbotsford, and of about 1,000 of […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
