Food safety is by far the number one agricultural issue on Canadians’ minds, says a new poll on livestock-related farm matters.

The Ontario Farm Issues Study poll, conducted by Ipsos Reid in February, found 57 per cent of Canadians ranked the safety of meat, milk and eggs as their most important agricultural issue.

A far distant second at 14 per cent was the care of farm animals. Genetic engineering in farm animals registered with just six per cent of the nearly 1,200 respondents.

And while Canadians say they’re concerned about food safety, they don’t think food itself is unsafe -- even meat, which appeared to suffer a major public relations blow with the high-profile Maple Leaf Foods listeria disaster.

It turns out that for safety, poll respondents rated meat almost as high as milk, long considered the benchmark for wholesomeness in Canadian diets. Of those surveyed, 89 per cent said they consider meat somewhat safe or very safe to eat. Milk weighed in at 92 per cent, just behind eggs at 94 per cent.

However, meat and poultry processors ranked near the bottom of respondents’ list of favourable groups and individuals involved in farming and food production. Only 18 per cent of respondents said they had a warm or favourable impression towards processors, compared to almost 50 per cent who felt that way towards farmers, ranchers and university scientists working to improve food and farming.

Farmers, in fact, came out on top in most scenarios.

For example, the number of non-farming Canadians with a positive impression of farmers shot up significantly since 2006, up to 52 per cent from 42 per cent.

And despite consumers’ preoccupation with food safety, even more said they were concerned about farming’s sustainability and profitability (24 per cent) than the price of food (18 per cent) or food safety (17 per cent). 

“We can utilize and leverage ourselves to be good, believable spokespeople,” says Colin Siren, senior researcher at Ipsos Reid, who presented the results to the group. “Most Canadians maintain a positive impression of farming and are predisposed to thinking that farmers are hard working and good people.”

A recent policy change by the Vancouver Island Health Authority on the sale of ungraded eggs is raising concern among British Columbia’s commercial egg industry, and appears to be at odds with Canadian Food Inspection Agency recommendations.

Under the new policy, VIHA no longer differentiates between graded and ungraded eggs when it comes to sale in retail stores or use in restaurants and commercial kitchens. Previously, ungraded egg sales were only permitted at the farm gate.

“We’re not telling people it’s OK to sell ungraded eggs, because maybe that’s in contravention of some other regulation,” Alan Kerr, VIHA regional environmental health consultant, told reporters. “What we’re telling them is the health department -- the health inspectors -- will not be making any distinction between graded and ungraded.”

VIHA says the policy change reflects the agency’s commitment to increase public access to locally produced food. Indeed, many small-scale producers are calling the change a step in the right direction. But both the B.C. Egg Marketing Board and CFIA warn the move could expose consumers to undue food safety risks.

“The whole point of egg grading is to avoid undue risk to the public,” says Grace Cho, BCEMB communications and marketing manager. She says the grading process differentiates eggs into grades and also ensures eggs are handled and packed in a sanitary environment at the correct temperature.

Judy Scaife, chief of CFIA’s National Egg Program, agrees.

“Consumers should be aware that ungraded eggs are not subject to government inspection and may not have been washed under controlled conditions or examined for internal defects,” Scaife says. “To reduce the risk, CFIA recommends purchasing eggs graded Canada A, and following safe food handling practices when preparing them.”

Scaife says the new policy falls within VIHA’s jurisdiction under provincial authority, but notes British Columbia, like other provinces, requires only graded eggs be sold to retail stores, restaurants, and institutions such as schools and hospitals.

“There is an expectation by the Canadian public that eggs sold or served at these locations are safe to consume and were graded at a federally registered grading station,” she says.

Cho says provincial legislation under the Agricultural Produce Grading Act allows producers to sell eggs from their farm or residence, if the buyer is using the eggs for household personal consumption.

Canada’s hemp and flax industries received a financial boost earlier this week to help them grow and expand.

The federal government is investing $9.6 million in the Natural Fibres for the Green Economy Network. The multidisciplinary network brings together Canada's top producers, industry and researchers. It creates additional profitable natural fibre-based industrial value chains by improving varieties, technologies and processes, and by improving products made out of the natural fibres.

Flax Canada 2015 Inc. President Barry Hall says the network’s collaborative approach is a primary key to success.

“Working as a team affords the best opportunity for the industry to develop new and improved technology and products for both flax and hemp fibre, thereby enhancing the value of these two crops,” Hall says.

A report on agriculture policy calls for a dramatic shift away from a model resembling social assistance to one that supports business models.

The Canada West Foundation, a Western Canadian think tank, released the report, called Prairie Agriculture at the Crossroads: Time for a New Policy. The report says it’s time to let go of 80-year-old agricultural policies in order to compete internationally.

The central focus of the report is that Prairie agriculture must benefit from a policy that escapes its depression-era focus.

“The conflicting subsidies, penalties, regulations and moral suasion that make up our agricultural policies provide an incoherent context for international competition,” says Robert Roach, CWF director of strategic policy, in a news release.

International competition is key as high food prices driven by demand from China and India will be important for making Canadian farms viable, self-sustaining enterprises, the report states. But in order to achieve this, the agricultural sector will have to move away from subsidies and income support -- a move that might cause some long-term agriculture producers with less-viable operations to shut down.

“There is a social cost to reforming agricultural policy, but there is also a cost to continuing with the current contradictory policies,” Roach says. “The goal is not to stop supporting the farming industry. The goal is to change the way we support it. The priority for agricultural policy for Prairie Canada must be to create viable farms that can compete globally and meet new consumer demands.”

The study analyzes changes made in Australia and New Zealand. Both countries have moved towards a deregulated farm sector, improving the viability of their farms. The report acknowledges the shift has come at a cost -- many producers were forced to exit the industry because their operations did not fit with the new model of viable farming operations.

The CWF sees several key challenges facing Prairie agriculture: environment, realignment of global competition, food safety and food quality concerns and restructuring and succession. The imminent retirement of many growers creates challenges in financing succession.

The study concludes: policy that will benefit Prairie agriculture consists of rationalization of all income support into a single program. It also suggests an injection of cash is needed to accelerate the restructuring of farms and farm ownership. Deregulation is required for competitiveness and the reinvigoration of support for basic research and extension services is necessary for new generation farms to thrive.

The study can be found at www.cwf.ca.

Members of Quebec’s hog industry were surprised to learn their jointly owned slaughter operation Olymel netted some of the largest profits for the province’s co-operative union.

Coop fédérée posted record profits for 2008, ringing in at $71 million. The coalition of 91 agricultural co-operatives employs 11,000 people in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta and generates $3.6 billion in annual sales.

“It was a shocker when you consider all the troubles Olymel has been having with slaughtering the past few years,” says Jean-Guy Vincent, president of the provincial hog producers association. “But if they’re making money, that means they can pay us.”

Quebec hog producers own 65 per cent of Olymel shares.

The company’s performance last year was a stark contrast to the previous five, when the company lost $150 million, says Olymel spokesperson Richard Vigneault. Most of those losses, he adds, were related to the fresh pork sector.

“We still face some serious challenges, but last year’s results are a relief,” Vigneault says. He credits both a jump in international exports, particularly to emerging markets like Russia and China, and the painful cuts Olymel made to its slaughtering and transformation facilities in Quebec between 2005 and 2007 as contributing to the profit.

Those cuts included the closure of two processing plants, reductions in operations at several others, and an eleventh-hour deal to keep open the pork slaughterhouse in the eastern Quebec town of Vallée-Jonction, a labour dispute that garnered weeks of negative front-page headlines for Olymel.

“We had to make some tough decisions,” Vigneault says. “But they are now paying off.”

For his part, Vincent says many of Quebec’s 4,000 hog producers are fighting to keep their heads above water after three consecutive years of low market prices, rising production costs and record government-backed insurance indemnities -- $550 million in 2008, up from $375 million in 2007 and $250 million in 2006. 

Those payouts have led to public calls for major reforms of Quebec’s pork industry and the provincial government is currently studying the issue.

Vincent feels part of the solution is in a proposed new deal between hog producers and the province’s seven major processors that would see Quebec producers paid U.S. prices and hog production designated to specific slaughterhouses.

Only Olymel, which slaughtered, processed and distributed over half of the 7.8 million hogs processed in the province last year, has formally agreed to the new system. A government-appointed mediator has tried to move talks along with other processors, but to no avail. Vincent says if an agreement isn’t reached by the end of March, the Quebec agricultural marketing board will hold hearings on the matter in mid-April.

Vincent says Olymel’s profits are a welcome sign, showing the industry is on the road to recovery.

“Profits are good news," he says. "It indicates that our slaughterhouses are healthy again.”

Canadian canola growers now have a new market for their crop. Last week, the European Commission announced it will allow imports into the European Union of a genetically modified type of oilseed rape developed by Bayer AG. The authorization, which lasts for 10 years, will allow all canola imports from Canada to resume.

"This was the last hurdle for us getting access to the EU," says Joanne Buth, president of the Canola Council of Canada. "Technically now, Canadian GM canola can move to the EU for processing, for either food or biodiesel."

The EU has restricted imports of Canadian canola seed for over 10 years due to public concern about genetically modified organisms. EU governments were deadlocked over the approval of this GM canola, which meant the European Commission had the unilateral authority to make this decision.

"We haven’t really had access to the European Union since 1995-96 when GM canola first came out,” Buth says. “It's interesting that it actually took over 10 years to get this final approval, which is a ridiculously long time."

Buth is uncertain how this change will impact the initial exports of canola seed to European countries. Longer term though, she expects Europe to become a solid stable market for Canadian canola.

"We could be looking at about a million tonnes by about 2015 and beyond," Buth says.

A build-up of European oilseed crush capacity and biodiesel production should provide good demand for Canadian canola now that the GM-related restrictions are removed. Competition for that market is expected to come from Ukraine, which is currently in the process of developing its own canola industry.

The CCC is excited growers will have another market to move their canola into, helping the industry move towards its goal of producing 15 million tonnes by 2015. In 2008-09, Canadian canola production was over 12 million tonnes.

A Quebec pork processing plant will be Canada’s first approved exporter to the European Union.

Les Aliments Lucyporc will be registered and granted approval for export. The processing plant located Yamachiche, about 100 kilometres northeast of Montreal, went through a thorough registration process and says they devoted an immense amount of time, energy and investment to achieve this approval.

The Canadian Pork Council says the plant's approval opens new market opportunities for the company and one that may be further enhanced as the Canadian government begins the preparation of a negotiating mandate with the EU. The CPC says it has been following market developments in the European Union since the October 2008 Canada-European Union Summit to explore an economic partnership and believe the EU market holds significant potential for Canadian pork products.

"The registration of Les Aliments Lucyporc's plant is not just a great opportunity for the company, but for the entire Canadian hog industry,” says CPC chair Jurgen Preugschas. “This plant is the first of what we expect will be several Canadian pork processing plants to be approved for export to the European Union.”

Preugschas says the industry has seen a rise of protectionist sentiments in the United States in the face of the economic downturn in that country, resulting in measures like the mandatory country-of-origin labelling legislations recently implemented by the U.S. government.

“The Canadian pork industry, which depends on exports for well over half of its output, needs this and other opportunities to further diversify its exports away from the United States,” he says.

Preugschas says with the EU’s population at about 500 million, the Canadian industry is making important investments to be able to respond to increasing demand in the EU countries.

Cleaning and disinfection of the two British Columbia farms infected with avian influenza is complete.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency continues surveillance at commercial poultry premises within three kilometres of the infected farms and at any in-contact premises still under movement restrictions outside the three kilometre radius.

Under international guidelines, Canada can regain its notifiable avian-influenza free status three months after all cleaning and disinfection activities on infected premises is complete and approved by the CFIA, provided that surveillance has been carried out during that three month period.

The CFIA continues to encourage poultry owners in the area to take an active role in protection of their flocks by enhancing their biosecurity measures, monitoring their flocks regularly and immediately reporting to CFIA any signs of illness that could be consistent with avian influenza.

The federal government has announced it will invest $15.5 million in the Canadian Triticale Biorefinery Initiative research network.

The Alberta-based project will develop triticale as a dedicated industrial bio-refining crop for Canada and a possible green alternative to petrochemicals currently used to make an array of products.

When triticale is broken down into its constituent parts, the entire plant, including the grain and straw, can be used for building material, animal feed, specialty chemicals, biodegradable plastics, biofuels and other products.

The grain offers good disease resistance, according to Dr. François Eudes, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge and one of the project directors. He says its drought and salinity tolerance, combined with high yields, make for a grain that can be produced with very low input costs.

These characteristics mean it can be grown on marginal land not suited to food crops such as wheat or corn. This provides a cash crop alternative to producers without taking valuable food growing acres out of production.

Eudes says manufacturing companies are interested in sharing research data and show interest in using this type of biomass to replace petroleum-based products.

Funding is in place to March 2011 to investigate issues such as competitiveness, bio-refining processes, platform chemicals, polymers and advanced materials, and biotechnologies looking at genetic engineering and genomics. 

Triticale is a man-made species developed in the late 1960s as a cross between wheat and rye. It is currently grown mainly in Western Canada and used for feed and silage for the beef industry.

For more information on the project, check the website at www.ctbi.ca.

A team of 10 New Brunswick seed potato exporters and industry representatives have returned from a trade mission to Cuba.

New Brunswick has supplied seed potatoes to Cuba for more than 80 years. The Cuban importation of seed potatoes from the province in 2008 was about 13,710 tonnes, worth over $5 million. That’s a 3,000 tonne increase from the previous year.

Agriculture Minister Ronald Ouellette says the mission is a chance to increase exports to an already stable market and meet with government and industry officials in preparation for seed potato export contract negotiations scheduled to take place in New Brunswick later this year.

New Brunswick is Canada's second-largest exporter of seed potatoes, with 27,362 tonnes worth close to $10 million produced in 2008 and exported mainly to the United States and Cuba.

Ask a trader these days what soybean, corn or canola markets are going to do today and the first thing he’ll ask you is what will the Dow Jones, crude oil and the American dollar do. If stock and energy are up and the U.S. dollar is down, grain markets are going up, and vice versa.

Really, is there anything else you need to know these days?

I spent much time following the release of United States Department of Agriculture’s updated supply/demand report, released March 11.

There was talk of strong U.S. soybean exports being offset by declining crush pace. There’s debate over whether USDA’s projection that U.S. corn use for ethanol should (or should not) be bumped up by 100 million bushels, making wheat usage for human consumption the lowest since 2005.

Taking it all together, the cynic in me came to the conclusion (big deal): is any of this stuff having any lasting impact on the markets?

Does shifting U.S. bean-ending stocks from 210 million bushels down to 185 million affect or change that market’s price trends? Or corn stocks lowered from 1.811 billion bushels to 1.74 billion?

Wheat got a lot of bearish attention with projected U.S. wheat stocks bumped to 712 million bushels and world wheat stocks upped six million tonnes to 156 million.

OK, world wheat carryover now equals 88 days of usage, up 17 days from last year. That sounds rather bearish. But how quickly it was forgotten when wheat futures went up the following week.

Now, my friends, I could spew analytical razzle dazzle, complete with charts and graphs splicing all the intricate details of the report in the search for hidden meanings and literally burying you in reading material. But you would come out of it no further ahead, no smarter than how you started.

As far as I’m concerned, here are some key market indicators to follow that are sure to drive grain price direction.

Looking at the big picture

The world is certainly a different place today than six or eight months ago. Stock markets are nowhere near where they were back in July when crude oil was trading over $140 a barrel. We’re not expecting a return of those levels anytime soon as speculative buying capacity for all markets is now severely diminished and constrained.

That said, the entire discussion of specific oilseed market fundamentals can be rendered moot — almost irrelevant — depending on the developments of broader macro-economic conditions. And here’s where we come back to the question we put to the soybean/canola trader on where prices are going today. You look at stock markets, crude oil and the U.S. dollar as they are the ultimate driving forces for ag sector commodities at this time.

They offer clues as to the temperament of the investing public at large, from the small spec player to the large international commodity funds.

So then, any relief in the macro-economic world will be bullish for commodities. If crude leads a charge higher, then corn and soybeans will be primary benefactors. Any move higher likely will not be a straight line rally, but there is a sense that important bottoms are being put in place for energy and equity markets right now with lots of money on the sidelines looking for an opportunity.

Again, markets may simply tread water for some time yet, but expect rallies to occur periodically and generate tidal forces. They may be brief, but it’s during those opportunities where we look to boost ag commodity marketings, whether they be for oilseeds, pulses, feed grains or wheat.

For the moment, sitting tight on most fronts, but with stock and energy markets hopefully showing some spunk lately, I’m hoping a reasonable opportunity on the ag commodity front emerges with the approach of spring.

Keep an eye on stock markets, crude oil and the U.S. dollar, rally signals on the first two and at least temporary topping action on the latter. Equities worldwide are suddenly catching fire, though I’m uncertain if it’s for real or just another head fake. The U.S. dollar is also testing key support.

It's all about the "macros" — who needs fundamentals anymore?

Mike Jubinville of Pro Farmer Canada offers information on commodity markets and marketing strategies. Call 204-654-4290 or visit http://www.pfcanada.com to find out more about his services.