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By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup

Agriculture Roundup for Wednesday April 1, 2020

Apr 1, 2020 | 9:51 AM

Olymel has temporarily closed one of its pork processing plants in Quebec.

Nine employees at the facility tested positive for COVID-19.

The company decided to close its facility at Yamachiche, Que. for 14 days after the workers tested positive for the virus.

The closure affects approximately 1,000 employees.

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Two United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports released yesterday are typically market moving events.

Neil Townsand with FarmLink Marketing said historically the perspective plantings and grain stocks reports generate volatility.

He said the reports were muted because there’s so much going on in the world. He said it was expected there would be a significant increase in corn and soybeans. The surprise was corn.

“The corn number was larger than what the trade was assuming. The trade was in and around that 94 to 94 and a half million mark, and they ended up with 97 million acres in terms of the perspective planting,” he said. “That’s a bit of a larger number in ordinary times that would be seen as a bit of a drag on the market, but it’s not not considered a hugely important variable.”

Townsend said traders are closely watching weather conditions in the U.S. corn belt where it has been very wet.

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The Alberta government has announced the creation of Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR), a non-profit, arm’s-length agriculture research organization.

Agriculture minister Devin Dreeshen said the creation of RDAR is the result of consultation with farmers, industry, and key partners in the agricultural sector.

He said it was created so farmers, in collaboration with researchers, would decide agricultural research priorities.

RDAR will replace previous research models, such as the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA) and the Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund (ACIDF).

RDAR will be fully operational in March 2021 with $2 million in start-up funding coming from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF