Backed by private investors, a company called Cheese New Brunswick have announced that they will be opening a new cheese plant near Sussex, New Brunswick.   The facility will create a new hard cheese similar to the popular Reggiano-Parmiagiano cheese from Italy.

Due to cheese labelling restrictions, the cheese cannot be called Reggiano-Parmiagiano unless it comes from a very specific region of Italy but it doesn’t prevent Cheese NB to create a very similar cheese under a different name which has not yet been revealed.

The $10 million plant which is scheduled to commence construction within 6 months, with completion in a year in a half.  Due to the time required to age the cheese, it is expected that cheese will not be available on retail shelves for 3 years or so.  Cheese New Brunswick has already secured a sufficient milk quota to create the volume of cheese that it expects.

Under optimistic scenario of maximum capacity a maximum of 40 employees will be needed for the Cheese New Brunswick operation.

Overall this is great news for the Sussex area and the agricultural community in New Brunswick.  Any operation that uses local agricultural products and hires local people is a positive development. I’m looking forward to tasting this new cheese. I just wish that I didn’t have to wait for three years.

More info:

CBC Information Morning Saint John interview with Cheese NB investor Mario Ruffalo

CBC News – New Brunswick – Cheese N.B. plans $10M facility.

Open Farm Day NB 2009 is set for September 20th.

As in previous years, the New Brunswick Dept of Agriculture, the Agricultural Alliance of NB along with Sobey’s present Open Farm Day 2009.  This event, scheduled to take place September 20th, 2009, allows the general public to visit participating farms across the province.

There are several farms showcasing various forms of agriculture throughout the province.  Participants range from U-Pick apple orchards such as Everett Farms near Fredericton to dairy and cattle farms such as Riordon Farms in the Acadian Peninsula and from wineries such as Magnetic Hills Winery just outside of Moncton to beekeeping/honey production at Miel-N-Bee Honey in Charlo.

See http://fermenbfarm.ca///uploads//Website_Assets/Open_Farm_Day_NB_Map.pdf for more details.

See also : Open Farm Day 2008 and Open Farm Day 2007

Nadeau Poultry Farm a large chicken processor located in northern New Brunswick, has announced a layoff of 175 workers which is approximately half of its staff.  The managers of the plant state that the staff reduction is caused by a lack of a supply of chickens to process after its prime chicken supplier and soon to be competitor Westco diverted a large amount of chickens to an Olymel plant in Quebec.

The poultry processing company has been in a long running dispute with competitor Westco over the supply and processing of chickens in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.  Westco and Olymel have teamed up and are planning to build their own slaughterhouse facility in Northern NB in the near future.

Nadeau is still hoping to get the New Brunswick government to pass a law which prohibits export of chickens for processing.  I personally don’t see the provincial government to pass such a bill at a time where it is trying to open up trade borders with its neighbour Quebec.

Update: Nadeau employees have tried unsuccessfully to block shipments of chickens to Quebec. http://an.capacadie.com/actualites-regionales/2009/9/10/le-poulet-de-westco-prend-la-route-du-quebec

It appears that there are still talks to try to resolve the situation according to the premier.

There is a growing concern over the use of antibiotics in animals and how excessive use (or misuse) of antibiotics in animals can lead to reduced antibiotic effectiveness in humans.

Antibiotics on the farm lead to human resistance

Numerous studies and evidence indicate (although not conclusively) that there is a direct link between the use of an antibiotics in raising poultry and human resistance to them.  In Canada, a study concerning the use of a third generation cephalosporin antibiotic called ceftiofur in hatcheries matched a rapid increase in human resistance to the drug.  Likewise when the drug use was voluntarily withdrawn from chicken hatcheries, the incidences of human resistance to cefiofur.

The antibiotic is injected into the egg prior to a chick hatching as a preventative measure against disease and illness.  This allows more chickens to be raised in

The large amount of evidence has led an antibiotic resistance expert Frank Aares to say:

“Taken in context with all the other knowledge we have, anyone still opposing a link between antibiotic use in food animal production and direct human health impact does so for other reasons than science.”

Despite the evidence and the removal of the drug for “off-label use” in Canada and in other countries, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has withdrawn a proposed law which prohibits the extra-label use of cephalosporins.  Extra-label use (sometimes referred to as off-label use) is the use of drug for a purpose for which it has not been explicitly approved. In this case, cephalosporin antibiotics have not been approved by the FDA as a preventative antibiotic, it appears to only have been approved for treatment of illnesses in swine and cattle.

FDA and ‘Big Chicken’ duke it out

It appears that there is a battle being waged between the FDA and ‘Big Chicken’ Over Antibiotics.  It will be interesting if the FDA reintroduces a ban in the future or if the big agri-business (and drug makers) have won another round.  Large industrial chicken farmers want to be able to use the antibiotic to increase the amount of chickens that they can raise in a given space and reduce the chance of disease spreading through their flocks. Understandable as those goals are, if it puts humans as risk of not having antibiotics be effective when required, I’ll have my chicken sans antibiotics.

Just when you thought that all McDonalds food is the same…

It turns out that across the world, McDonalds restaurants add localized items some of which become very popular items.  These items vary based on local tastes, regional food availability and religious belief which may limit some choices for customers.

McDonalds Menu Items From Around The World

Some interesting items include a McLobster sandwich which is only seasonally available in Atlantic Canada, a Bacon and Potato Pie, the Ebi Filet-o (a fried shrimp sandwich) and McSpaghetti available in Asia.  The Middle East has a Chicken Big Mac, a Paneer Salsa Wrap and a Chicken McCurry Pan.  Europe on the other hand has McBeer in a few countries such as Germany and Onion rings in a few others.

Part of the problem with the current food supply chain is the disconnect between producer and consumer.  Information about where food is grown or manufactured as well additional information about growing techniques or specific manufacturing process are not available to consumers.  Even after extensive research, it is often difficult to know where our food comes from.  It is easy to disguise products as local and to hide their origins or details concerning their production.

I am currently reading a Twinkie Deconstructed which is dedicated to examining and tracing the origin and method of manufacture of each of the ingredients in the popular cake snack Twinkies.  Ever wonder what Polysorbate 60 is?  This book drive the point across of how far we have become separated from our food sources and how little information we really have about the food (and food like substances) that we eat.

Tracking the food we eat

I’ve already written about pilot programs that use RFID to track food from farm to plate but other initiatives using barcodes could also be effective in tracking food.  Several companies including FoodReg and TraceTracker are trying to address issues surrounding traceability of items in the food supply chain.  Databases can track origin or specific growing conditions of the food being tracked.  For examples TraceTracker and Intel are teaming up to develop a system that allows tracking of halal foods.

Maybe someday I will really be able to tell whether the apples for my apple juice came from the farmer down the road or from some tree halfway around the world.

Earlier this week, the New Brunswick government and Agriculture Canada announced the New Brunswick agreement under the Growing Forward program which will provide up to $24.6 million for New Brunswick farmers, businesses and agricultural researchers for research, development and adaptation of technology in the agricultural sector.

What is involved?

The program which runs from April 1, 2009 until March 31, 2013 provides funding for the research, development, adaptation or adoption of new technology in the agricultural sector in New Brunswick.  The goal is to improve the competitiveness, sustainability, profitability and/or self-sufficiency of the New Brunswick agricultural and agri-food sectors.  Food safety, tracability and bio-security initiatives appear to also be eligible for funding under the Growing Forward plan.

With major food producers such a McCain and Ganong having a large presence in NB, look for some of them to take advantage of this available funding. Hopefully the small family famers will be able to draw up some projects which allow them to adapt technology in order to become more efficient, competetive and profitable which will ensure their stability and growth.

Who is picking up the tab?

The costs of the program will be split at a 60/40 ratio between the federal and provincial governments which means a $14.76 million contribution from the federal government to the sector (though media releases like to quote the combined totals for better effect).  Contributions through the program will only cover a portion of the research or development program (in most cases up to 50% up to a maximum of $35,000

An overview of the program is available in PDF form at: http://www.gnb.ca/0180/GuidelinesEnablingAgriculturalResearchInnovation.pdf

Is New Brunswick special?

Growing Forward is a national program developed by Agriculture Canada which plans to spend invest $1.3 billion over 5 years.  An overview of the program is available at : http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1238606407452&lang=eng.

Although NB is one of the first province to reach a funding agreement with the federal government, I anticipate that other provinces will follow with announcements of their own in order to get their portion of the $1.3 billion (okay, actually $780 millon) of federal money.

Researchers from the University of Alberta, the Guelph University and the University of Manitoba have found a way to cut cattle methane by up to 25 percent.

Feed is key

By adjusting feed’s chemical balance, researchers were able to greatly reduce methane production in cattle.  Specifically they examined the balance of starch, sugar, cellulose, ash, fat and “other elements”.

Other factors at play

The research team as well as other researchers around the world have also examined other solutions for reducing the methane production of dairy cows and cattle including using genetics to selectively breed lower methane producing cattle and introducing specially formulated additives including enzymes or fish oil in feed to reduce the production of methane.  Other factors which impact the total methane production include the productivity of the dairy cows (ie: more milk produced per cows means less cows needed).

Less methane good for environment

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas being 20 times more effective as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.  Luckily, methane emissions are at much lower volume than carbon dioxide but even the Kyoto protocol which seeks to control greenhouse gas emissions attempts to regulate the amount of methane being produced in each country.

It has been shown that approximately 16% of methane emissions are due to cattle belch while the entire livestock sector (including chickens, pigs and cattle) produce 37% of human induced methane emissions.

The province of New Brunswick recently announced that it would make available up to $300,000 for silviculture operations such as thinning (commercial and pre-commercial) on their sugar maple stands.

Judging from last year’s silviculture funding, there are restrictions to what size operation are eligible for funding  (5 hectares with > 150 taps/ha) as well a maximum limit per hectare ($500) and per producer ($5000).

Why support maple producers through silviculture?

The intent of the financial support is to encourage healthy and more productive sap production from the sugar maples and which should in turn encourage increased maple syrup production.  Unfortunately there are other uncontrollable factors such as weather which affect sap production and thus profitability.

New Brunswick is a fairly large player in the maple syrup market worldwide with approximately four million pounds of syrup being produced every season.  Although this is a relatively small amount compared to the production from Quebec, it still represents about $12 million annually to the New Brunswick economy.  In addition, with the price of maple syrup having risen fairly dramatically in the last few years, maple syrup production has the potential for increased returns.

By specifically targeting the silviculture side of maple syrup production, as opposed to say improving the efficiency of the sap boiling process, the government is also helping out provincial silviculture firms (including the Irvings) which have been struggling along with the rest of the forestry sector for the last few years.

Chris Corrigan has an appeal against the humble melons lamenting that melons and other fruits should only be served in season at gathering such as meetings and conferences.  As he points out, fruits are shipped halfway around the world in order to satisfy demands that fruits (and vegetables for that matter) be available all year round regardless of the time of year.  It is now possible to buy strawberries, oranges, apples and melons any time of the year whether it is +40 or -40 degees outside.  Consumers don’t need to worry about little things like ripeness and where the produce comes from.  They can simply buy it at the store and eat it when they want.

Mind you the only time that the fruits are tasty and fresh are when they are locally in season.  To buy local produce though you might have to show up at your farmer’s market instead of the supermarket.

It is great to see that bigger is not always better.

The story old-school hog farming stages a comeback, about Russ Kremer and the Ozark Mountain Pork co-operative, is a fabulous demonstration that quality and sustainable agriculture can succeed and overcome the mindset that bigger and “more efficient” is always the best.

I don’t think that it is difficult to argue that higher quality and better tasting food can be made by using more humane and caring practices.  The question is are people willing to pay more for better tasting food and for food that is produced or grown using more sustainable methods?

Are you willing to pay more for items such as free range chickens and eggs or for organic foods?

Have you ever noticed that certain food items that you buy don’t seem to last as long as before? This could be due to the practice known as short sizing.

What is short sizing?

The practice of short sizing consists of slightly reducing package sizes while keeping the prices near the same level. This has the effect of reducing the amount of food required to be manufactured thus reducing the manufacturer’s cost. In some cases, the packaging remains identical but the amount of food in the package is reduced. As prices are kept the same, manufacturers increase their profit margin. Some manufacturers claim that the practice is used to prevent the need to raise prices but the effect for the consumer is the same, less food for the same price.

Short sizing can and does happen in other retail packages such as shampoo and cleaning supplies but it can be seen most often in food products.

Does it really matter?

Short sized packages are typically slightly smaller than the previous packages which they replace. For example, a 1 litre jar of peanut butter might be reduced to 975 ml or a 500 g box of crackers might get replaced by a 450 g box. The small change has the effect that many consumers will not notice the smaller size and simply purchase the product as they had before.

Slight reductions in sizes, especially to odd sizes can also make it more difficult for shoppers to perform unit cost calculations for comparison shopping.  5$ for a 500 ml can of juice makes it easy to calculate a 1$ per 100 ml unit cost.  5$ for a 475 ml can of juice however is a bit tougher to calculate the unit cost of $1.05 per 100 ml.  By making it more difficult to compare unit costs, it is hard for grocery shoppers to know if they are really getting a good value for their food dollars.  Although I can’t find the original study, reportedly, in a UK study : “When provided with only the total price and weight for six different sizes of baked beans, just 7% of consumers could accurately calculate the lowest unit price.”

People are taking notice

Many consumers are growing frustrated with short sizing and recently the mainstream media such as the NY Times and the LA Times have picked up stories of consumer frustration.

Does it bother you that packages are shrinking without getting any cheaper?

In 2007, the Canadian government announced new regulatory changes with respect to cheese sold in Canada that may affect the quality, content and perhaps the price of cheese in your supermarket.

Cheese labelling changes

The changes are fairly minor but the updated law will require imposes compositional standards for cheeses.  In other words there will now be minimum percentages of milk and cream required to make and sell cheese under certain labels such as cheddar in Canada.  This is in contrast to today where cheese manufacturers have no limits on the percentages of other milk ingredients (modified milk ingredients) which can be used to manufacture cheese.

The entire list of regulations concerning not only cheese but other dairy products can be found at: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-0.4/SOR-79-840.

Not everybody views this change as positive

While the dairy industry and smaller cheese producers support the amendments, the industry’s biggest cheese processors such as Kraft Canada and Saputo are fighting the labelling changes as they claim that the reduction of modified milk ingredients (mostly imported) from their cheese making process in favour of raw milk (local I might add), will raise prices and in the end hurt cheese consumption.

As previously stated on the CBC’s Marketplace, there is more to the story however. Modified milk ingredients can be imported into Canada tariff free unlike milk and cream which are typically used to make cheese and ice cream.  These low cost milk ingredients are then used to make lower quality products.

Quick resolution?

Hopefully the legal challenges will be quickly struck down and Canadian can finally be assured that what they are buying in their stores really is the cheese that they expect.

See also: http://www.theholmteam.ca/Canadian.cheese.pdf

New Brunswick Open Farm Day for 2008 has been scheduled for September 21st, 2008.

Open Farm Day

Every year in the fall, the NB Department of Agriculture and Aquaculture, along with the agricultural alliance of NB with support from the Sobey’s supermarket chain have an Open Farm Day.  In the spirit of Doors Open, this is an opportunity for the public to tour and get a glimpse of operating farms and food related operations.  It also allows the public to gain an appreciation for the food chain and how some of the food arrives at the table.

There are several interesting farms which will be opened to visitor for guided tours and open discussions.

St. George

A new tour being given this year at Open Farm Days are will be boat tours of salmon aquaculture pens in the Bay of Funday near St. George. The New Brunswick Salmon Growers Association is hosting these tours and there will be two tours departing at 1pm and 3pm. Reservations are available.

Sussex Area

Ara-li Acres which is a horse breeding hobby farm north of Sussex. Tours of the farm and of the farm’s Morgan horses will be available to the public.

Waldow Farms Ltd. a dairy farm with 160 milking cows and a total of 360 to 400 animals will be giving tours of their farm and allow the public to watch the cows being milked.

Sussex will have two activities as the Agricultural Museum in Sussex will be giving free museum tours from 12:00 until 4:00 and there will also be New Brunswick beef expo at the Princess Louise Show Centre.

Motts Landing Vineyard will be giving tours of their 6 acre vineyard near Cambridge-Narrows.

Moncton Area

Speaking of wine, Magnetic Hill Winery will be giving winery tours as well as conducting sampling sessions.

In Memramcook, the Bourgeois farm will have winery tours as well as have a U-pick operation at its apple and fruit orchard.

Glarro Farm in Petitcodiac will have wagon rides and farm tours of their beef farm

Fredericton Area

Scott’s Nursery one of the largest nurseries in New Brunswick with over 6 acres of greenhouses will be conducting tours of its operations throughout the day.

Coburn Farms in Keswick will be conducting tours of its egg, grain and cider operations throughout the afternoon.

One of Atlantic Canada’s first certified organic farms Good Spring Farm will have tours of their poultry and vegetable operations.

The Apple Bin is a store located in Keswick Ridge which sells exclusively New Brunswick produce and farm products will have an exhibition on Canadian Heritage apple and potato displays as well as having fresh local produce for sale.

Donnelly Holsteins near Lake George milks 42 Holstein cows and will have tours of the farm as well as walking trails into nearby woods.

Schotanus Farm near Hanwell will have demonstrations on planting tulips as well as honey bees, small fruits and apples.

Everett Orchard in Island View on route 102 is a 7 acres apple orchard which will have a U-Pick opened up for families and the rest of the interested public.

The Double Oord dairy farm in Springfield on route 615 will have tours of its farm as well as milking demonstrations of its 100 head cattle herd.

In Hoyt, New Brunswick (just south of Fredericton on the 101) is Freshet Farms which is a 200 acres dairy farm will have tours. They also have an onsite playground.

Others farms and more info

There are other farms and food producers involved in Open Farm Day in the Upper Saint John river valley and northern New Brunswick.

For more info, there is a PDF available with a map of locations and more details on each farm at http://fermenbfarm.ca/uploads//Website_Assets/AANB_Map_NB.pdf

The map can also be found at local Sobeys supermarkets in New Brunswick.

If you are looking for some lemon meringue pie or just about anything else that uses lemons, be prepared to have to hunt it down as you might have a hard time finding it.  You might want to get your wallet ready too as a shortage of lemons (and lemon juice) has pushed prices for the fresh fruit up by more than double.

Due to a combination or drought and frost in the primary lemon growing regions of southern Europe, California and Arizona lemon suppliers do not have adequate supplies and the first to feel the shortage seems to be the lemon juice producers.

See: TheStar.com – Lemon juice scarcity sends prices soaring.

In late July, the New Brunswick government announced a large funding initiative for the agricultural sector.  Totalling up to $850,000 the funds will be divided between several different programs in the following manner:

• Livestock genetic enhancement initiative – $300,000
• Honeybee expansion initiative – $150,000
• Apple development initiative – $100,000
• Organic development initiative – $90,000
• Strategic projects – $60,000

All of the programs aim to increase the competitiveness of New Brunswick farmers and helping them increase their productivity by either improving their land or their crops.

There are more details and application forms at http://www.gnb.ca/0027/0017-e.asp.

Combined with previously announced funding of agricultural initiative of over $750,000 it appears that the New Brunswick Liberals led by Shawn Graham are really looking to push agriculture forward in this province.

In April, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture started a three year pilot program which is attempting to trace and track produce (tomatoes in the pilot) using RFID tags.  The tags are not attached directly to the tomatoes but to the boxes in which the tomatoes are shipped from the farm.

The intent is to have a record of the produce’s location and therefore be able to trace produce through the food distribution chain.  By having such traceability, it would be easy to quickly isolate and contain food contamination such as the recent salmonella outbreaks in the United States.

If successful, this technology could help reliably track shipments of produce, meat and other goods through our food system.  Despite probable objections to opening up this kind of data, if it was made available to consumers, it would give us the ability to see where our food really comes from.

How much of the money that you spend at the grocery store ends up in the farmer’s pockets?

According to the article “Farmers’ Share of Food Dollar” on Envirovore, not much.  The story claims that on average, 20% of every dollar goes to the farmer.  Obviously, the percentage will vary greatly based on product and how much marketing, manufacturing and processing is required.  For example, $10 worth of potato chips will bring less money to the farm than $10 worth of potatoes as the chips require additional processing and other costs.

Mind you, the volume of food and therefore the effort required by the farmer, needed for $10 worth of potatoes is much greater than for the potato chips.  The processors of the potatoes do add value and in doing so raise the value of the final product.

All things being equal however, there is a large amount of additional mark-up that is consumed by middle men in the food distribution chain.  The retailer, the distributor and the shipper all take a cut of each dollar that you spend on food at the grocery store.

How to maximize returns to the farmer?

One approach to increasing the percentage of your money getting back onto the farm is to purchase products directly from the farm.  Many farms now how retail stands and many more have a presence at local farmer’s markets.  By buying directly from the farmer, the middle men in the food distribution chain get bypassed and replaced by the farmer as they are providing the packaging, the transportation and retailing to you directly.

Community Supported Agriculture

Another option which allow you to buy directly from farmers is a Community Supported (or Shared) Agriculture (CSA) program.  CSA programs allow consumers to “subscribe” to a farm and get a periodic (often weekly) delivery (or pick up) of food from the farm when the produce is ready.

Unfortunately CSA programs are not always widely available.  For example, in New Brunswick, the only CSA farm that I am aware of is the Bantry Bay Farm which is located near St. Andrews, New Brunswick.

Buying locally

Even when buying food from the large supermarket chains, it is possible to increase the percentage of your food dollars ending up on the farm. By buying locally grown and made products, you minimize the amount of money being spent on transportation and shipping. As addition to buying locally produced foods, buying less processed foods will also increase the amount of money being sent to farms and farmers as there less middle men in the food distribution chain and there is also less money spent on processing food.  Besides, buying less processed foods is probably much healthier for you too.

Earlier this week, the provincial agriculture minister Ronald Ouellette and Fundy Royal MP Rob Moore announced an initiative directed at New Brunswick’s orchards and vineyards.  Up to $772,680 ($309,000 provincial – $463,680 federal) will be made available to fruit tree and vineyard owners across the province who wish to transition existing grape vines and fruit trees to new varieties.

Adapting to a changing marketplace

As in fashion, food trends flourish and fade out.  Apple varieties such as McIntosh are no longer as popular as they once were while new varieties such as Honeycrisp are in high demand and can extract premium prices from consumers and retailers.  By removing rejuvenating orchards with newer crops, growers are able to keep pace with market demand and thus are more likely remain competitive and to be able to make a profit.

Ripping up old fruit trees and vineyards however is a costly endeavour.  Not only is the labour required to remove old trees and vines needed but the is a considerable cost and effort to replant and to tend for new vines and trees as they grow and mature.  There is also an added cost of land that is not producing fruit for at least a few years while the new varieties develop.

Encouraging new varieties

In an effort to encourage farmers to adapt to changing market conditions, the provincial and federal governments have combined to fund up to $4000 per hectare of land that has been ripped up and replanted.  It is not clear if there are restrictions on what varieties can be replanted but it would definitely be in the farmer’s best interest to replant varieties that are in high demand.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for the government program, farmers must have at least 0.25 hectares (or 0.60 acres) in production.  In addition, farmers must commit to keeping the land that is being replanted in agriculture for at least 5 years.  I doubt that either of these conditions to be an issue as newly planted orchards and vineyards will take some time to establish themselves and produce.

Apple growers only?

Is this program only for apple growers?  The only significant industry for fruit orchards in New Brunswick are apples and while there is a growing grape growing industry forming, since it is still in its infancy in New Brunswick, it is unlikely that farmers will be looking to replant vines anytime soon.  By including all fruit orchards and vineyards, the government is being inclusive and ensuring that no group feels excluded but I would be very surprised if more than 5% of the money spent on this program is given to non-apple growers.

The battle is brewing over chicken processing in New Brunswick.

The Players

In one corner is the long established Nadeau Maple Lodge (owned by Ontario based parent company Maple Lodge Farms) who currently operates New Brunswick’s only chicken processing facility in the northern New Brunswick community of St. Francois de Madawaska.

In the other corner is Groupe Westco who is a major poultry production group and holds a large amount of the chicken production quota (around 50%) for the province.  Joining Groupe Westco in this corner is Olymel, Canada’s largest poultry and pork processor based in Quebec.

Round 1 : Attempted Buyout

Groupe Westco in an effort to assert control over the chicken vertical from egg to plate, made an offer to purchase Nadeau’s chicken processing facility.  Nadeau countered that the offer made by Groupe Westco was more of a threat in order to acquire its facilities at reduced price.  The claim being that Westco threatened to stop sending any of its chickens to Nadeau if it did not agree to the buyout.  Nadeau refused to sell its processing assets to Westco.

Round 2 : Threats

After being rebuffed by Nadeau Poultry, Groupe Westco formed a partnership with Quebec’s Olymel.  The goal of the partnership is to build a slaughterhouse in St. Francois in order to process Groupe Westco’s chickens.  Until the facility is completed, Westco plans to ship its quota of chickens to an Olymel processing plant in Quebec beginning in July.

Many people including Nadeau claim that Groupe Westco’s actions are anti-competitive and Nadeau Maple Lodge has even filed a complaint with Canada’s competition tribunal.  More importantly, many worry about whether the plans for a new processing facility is simply a negotiating tactic on Westco’s behalf in order to acquire the Nadeau slaughterhouse.  The other concern is that by shipping chickens to Quebec for processing, processing jobs at the Nadeau plant would be lost to Quebec.

Round 3: Government gets involved

At the beginning of June, the government of New Brunswick amended some legislation in order to allow the government to enforce, if needed, a temporary halt of out of province chicken shipments.  This amendment is intended to promote some stability in the sector.  Westco is claiming that the government is interfering with the free market and favouring one producer over another.

I think that the provincial gov’t fears that if poultry is taken out of province for processing, not only does it take processing jobs out of the province but that it may put Nadeau Maple Lodge out of business which could cause even more damage to an already fragile northern New Brunswick economy.

It will be interesting to see which way the feathers fly….

The tomato industry appears to be headed for some tough times after the recent rash of salmonella poisoning cases in the United States.  The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has linked the salmonella cases to certain raw tomatoes.  Tomato varieties which appear to be of concern are raw red plum tomatoes, raw red Roma tomatoes and raw red round tomatoes.  The FDA has also listed certain jurisdictions which are not associated with the contaminated tomatoes.  Luckily this list includes the whole country of Canada.

The Impact to Farmers

Tomato growers are understandably quite concerned about this outbreak and what the impact will be on their business.  Farmers in the affected areas will be greatly impacted as purchases from their states or areas will be effectively banned until the precise point of contamination can be identified.  Farmers in certain areas are likely to have to let tomatoes rot on the vine as they cannot sell any produce they were to pick and package.

Short term, there is a large hit as a majority of restaurants have pulled tomatoes from their offerings and many grocery stores have also stopped selling certain types of tomatoes.  The industry as a whole will definitely feel a longer term impact however as the leery consumer is likely to veer away from tomatoes until confidence in its safety can be restored. The spinach industry is still trying to recover from a decrease in consumption after an e.coli outbreak occurred in 2006.

Preventing future outbreaks

Traceability

One of the frustrating issues with a food safety issue such as this salmonella poisoning case is the amount of time which it takes to isolate the source of the contamination.  By necessitating traceability, food safety agencies and consumers themselves, could more easily trace contaminated to food back to its origin.  The quicker the source of the outbreak can be identified and isolated, the easier it is to prevent or stop the spread of the outbreak.

In my opinion it should be possible to trace back produce to the farm on which it was grown.  Currently that is nearly impossible as large packaging companies and marketing companies combine produce from many different sources and distribute it to a multitude of locations so there is no telling where the tomato you buy in the store was grown.  There are typically country of origin but there are quite a few farms spread out across the country.

Buying local

The other approach is to limit large scale distribution of food by encouraging consumers to buy local produce.  In this fashion, any outbreak would be restricted to a local population which would simplify the identification and isolation of the contamination source.

Hopefully the salmonella source will be quickly isolated and the impact on the industry will be short lived.  Perhaps some people will start to critically examine their food and the entire agricultural industry instead of taking food for granted.

This is a new blog dedicated to food and agriculture.  As the blog is based in Fredericton, New Brunswick the blog will cover some local and regional issues and stories.  The Food, Food, Food blog will also examine agriculture and food related issues across Canada and around the world.

Some of the issue that I intend to cover include :

• Trends in agriculture including the rise of the ethanol and biofuels industry and its impact on farmers
• Trends in food retailing practices and their impacts on farmers and family farms
• Consumer movements such as the eating local movement and changes in nutrition fads
• International food activities including the rise of the Chinese food processing and exporting market, the recent changes to the Asian diet and the discrepancies in farm subsidies amongst various countries
• Industry profiles such as the dairy industry in New Brunswick or the cranberry industry across Canada
• Company profiles and their impact on the agriculture and food industries

I hope that I can provide valuable information and generate some interesting discussions and ideas and if you have any suggestions for discussion or topics to post, please feel free to contact me or post a comment on the blog.