By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Friday November 10, 2023

Nov 10, 2023 | 4:00 PM

The number of B.C. poultry flocks infected with avian flu is growing dramatically as migrating wild birds spread the disease while flying south for the winter.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says 22 flocks, many of them large, commercial operations in the Fraser Valley, have been infected since October 20th.

About half a dozen new infections were identified yesterday, seven of them involving commercial poultry operations between Langley and Chilliwack, and one linked to a backyard flock in Qualicum on Vancouver Island.

The B.C. Agriculture Ministry said once a positive test is confirmed, the flock is quarantined, culled, and then disposed of.

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The canola development commissions in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba have launched a new brand campaign.

Hello Canola is a joint national Marketing Program telling the story of canola, its many uses, and health benefits.

Canola is known to be a heart-healthy cooking oil but is also used in other areas such as the beauty industry, pet food, manufacturing, biofuel, and fashion industries.

Canola is grown on over 20 million acres across Canada primarily in Western Canada and is one of the country’s most valuable agricultural exports. More than 207,000 Canadian jobs are linked to canola and the crop’s potential continues to grow.

The Hello Canola website has a learning centre, recipe area, and talks about the many benefits of the crop and its sustainability story.

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Organic grain price platform has been launched.

The Organic Grain Hub combines organic crop price data through a combination of crowd sourcing and bi-monthly calls with major Canadian organic buyers. It contains a directory of organic buyers and will be accompanied by a newsletter with industry analysis.

The hub was established by the Manitoba Organic Alliance in partnership with Prairie organic producer groups.

The Manitoba Agriculture Services Corporation might collect data on organic oat acres, but if only two farmers grow the crop, the data can’t be disclosed. There must be at least three farmers in a particular area to allow disclosure of acreage data.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @farmnewsNOW