(Alice McFarlane/farmnewsNOW Staff)

By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup

Agriculture News Roundup for Thursday June 27, 2019

Jun 27, 2019 | 10:25 AM

Federal officials are defending Canada’s meat supply.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said meat shipments are safe.

China is halting all meat imports, expressing concern about fake veterinary licences.

Goodale said a full investigation is underway and Canada will not tolerate anything which detracts from the country’s reputation for good, clean high quality food products.

He said Canada will respond appropriately once all the facts are known.

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Northeast area 4-H members will show off their hard work at this year’s show and sale in Melfort.

Show co-ordinator Carla Borsa said there will be 110 members from the age of six to 21 participating along with over 200 head of cattle from seven clubs.

Part of the proceeds of this year’s charity steer will go to Stars Air Ambulance.

The public is welcome to attend all of the events July 7 and July 8 at the Melfort fair grounds.

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Canada’s AgGrowth Coalition is calling for immediate government action to improve business risk management programs for farmers.

Some of the changes being requested include the adjustment of AgriStability to cover losses starting at 85 per cent reference margins with no reference margin limits.

There is also a call for production insurance for livestock and horticulture crops which are not currently covered under AgriInsurance.

The coalition wants the creation of an industry and government technical working group to look at the effectiveness of the programs as well as new programming options focused on program effectiveness rather than funding levels.

Coalition members include the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Horticultural Council, Grain Farmers of Ontario, Grain Growers of Canada and the National Sheep Network.

The coalition wants the agriculture ministers to address these issues when they meet in Quebec City next month.

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A farm labour deficit is expected to double by 2029.

The Labour Market Forecast for the agricultural sector said a shortage of workers will continue to hurt the industry for the next 10 years.

Data released by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council said farmers across the sector reported $2.9 billion in lost sales because of unfilled job vacancies. That’s an increase from $1.5 billion in 2014.

Increased use of technology and a growing number of international workers is helping but the council said labour shortages can only be addressed by taking decisive action.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF