Hello, and welcome to Sprout, where it’s National Catfish Day (the edible, not the sketchy, online activity) and National Strawberry Parfait Day. It’s Friday too! So take off your shoes and enjoy your weekend!
Here is the latest agricultural news.
The leadership
Canada has a new Chief Veterinary Officer. In a tweet on Thursday, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced that Dr. Mary Ireland by Dr. Jaspinder Komal will take over as the country’s top veterinarian and also serve as Canada’s new delegate to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
Komal served as Canada’s chief veterinary officer and OIE delegate for the country for four years. “I want to Dr. We sincerely thank Jaspinder Komal for the incredible job he has done as our OIE Delegate for Canada and Chief Veterinary Office, ”Bibeau tweeted. “He has now handed the torch to Dr. Mary Jane Ireland who I know will fill his big shoes well! “
Ireland is a graduate of the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College and began her career in mixed animal practice in eastern Ontario. In 2002, she joined the Veterinary Drugs Director of Health Canada where she held various positions including General Manager. Ireland joined Canada’s Food Inspection Agency in 2020 as Executive Director of the Agency’s Animal Health Directorate. More information can be found here.
In a statement, the Canadian Food Inspectorate thanked Komal for his “tremendous work” during his tenure and noted that he had made several important contributions to the case. Komal will continue to serve as the Vice President of Science for the Canadian Food Safety Authority.
Around the city
The province has announced that Ontario will move into Phase 2 of its reopening plan on June 30th. More details can be found here.
Statistics Canada has published milk statistics for April 2021. You can find the data here. StatCan also released statistics on oilseed crushing for May 2021, details on production of ground wheat and wheat flour for May 2021, and deliveries of main grains for May 2021.
In Canada
Canadian exporters are hoping to benefit from a faster-than-expected economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, with Economic Development Canada’s semi-annual trade confidence index currently 19 percent higher than it was earlier this year. As reported by the Financial Post, the jump is the largest in the history of the index.
Real Agriculture takes a closer look at the current drought holding pattern in western Canada and what it might take to break it. Meanwhile, open burning will be banned across British Columbia before a wave of extreme hot weather, the province’s Forest Fire Service said. CBC News has this story.
ICYMI: Canada Goose said this week it will no longer use fur in its products – a move analysts say is mainly driven by consumers. CBC News offers more.
International
The negotiators with the European Union have reached an agreement on controversial parts of the bloc’s agricultural subsidies, a breakthrough that raises hopes that a full agreement will soon be reached on the overall package of the common agricultural policy. Reuters has more.
Meanwhile, the UK is facing a summer of food shortages as the trucking industry lost 100,000 drivers to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis and Brexit. As the Guardian reports, in a letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the industry has called for urgent intervention so that Eastern European drivers with special visas can re-enter the country.
Remarkable
The kicker
Pigeon lovers seek help after 10,000 valuable pigeons vanish into thin air, and breeders fear a solar storm may have lost sight of the birds. Meanwhile, the owners of the birds hope that the birds will eventually make it home. This story is from the Guardian.
That’s it for us this week. Have a nice weekend and see you on Monday.