By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday May 24, 2022

May 24, 2022 | 11:00 AM

MELFORT, Sask. — Experts say this year’s crop could be the most expensive in history.

Canadian farmers are dealing with fertilizer costs that have more than doubled from last year, while diesel and gasoline are soaring, as are the prices of seed, equipment and herbicides.

Inflation, the war in Ukraine and pandemic-related supply chain challenges are some of the reasons behind the spiking costs.

Global prices for crops like wheat, barley and canola are also skyrocketing.

That means farmers still have the chance to make a profit, but the high cost of inputs means they’ll need to produce good yields and avoid drought and flooding.

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Canada’s international development minister said Russia has planted mines in Ukrainian fields to prevent farmers from cultivating their crops.

Speaking after a meeting of G7 development ministers in Berlin, Sajjan Harjit said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told them Russian troops were mining fields to ruin the harvest and steal Ukraine’s food stores.

He said getting Ukrainian wheat to developing countries relying on it as a staple food is crucial to stave off hunger and future conflict.

Sajjan said Canada is working on how to get food to developing countries deprived of Ukrainian grain and, if not enough wheat is available, is looking into sending stores of other food, including potatoes and carrots.

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a small flock of poultry in Richmond, B.C.

The agency did not provide information on the number of birds infected or the type of poultry.

CFIA said while avian flu is not a food safety concern, it is spreading across the globe and anyone with birds must use preventive measures like securing their property by a fence.

Small flocks are at risk of contracting viruses like avian influenza, especially if they have access to ponds or bodies of water known to be used by wild birds.

B.C.’s Agriculture Ministry said this week that avian flu had been found in a commercial flock in the Fraser Valley, home to 80 per cent of the province’s poultry farms.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW