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By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup

Agriculture Roundup for Monday, November 6, 2023

Nov 6, 2023 | 12:21 PM

Canadian authorities have detected the presence of avian flu at two B.C. locations over the weekend.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the presence of avian flu was detected on Saturday at two commercial poultry locations, one in Langley, the other in Abbotsford.

The development comes after four detections were reported in less than a week last month at commercial poultry operations in the Fraser Valley.

The outbreaks in October were the first since April, when infected wild birds migrating north were blamed for spreading the disease in B.C. and several other Canadian provinces.

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An executive with the Manitoba Craft Brewers Association said the the brewing industry is facing significant cost pressures.

Tim Hudek said inflation and the war in Ukraine are driving up costs, and it’s harder for operators to bring their prices down because their products tend to be purer than those sold by national brands, as less adjuncts are used.

Hudek said the industry is witnessing a slowdown, noting that when people are squeezed financially, they might not necessarily be able to afford to go out to eat at their favourite restaurant as much.

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Mushrooms appear to be popping up all over B.C. this year, in what experts say is a bumper crop of fungi.

B.C. mycologist Andy MacKinnon said last year was a very poor year for mushrooms with the summer drought extending into the fall but rain this fall has brought out a flush of fungi.

MacKinnon said people are flocking to Vancouver Island to pick the abundance of porcini mushrooms.

Naturalist and mushroom expert Kem Luther said he’s noticed the same trend this fall, with the rain arriving and the trees moving sugar to their roots to give the mushrooms an infusion of food.

But there is also a bonanza of poisonous mushrooms to be careful of, including the fly agaric, also known as the Super Mario mushroom, with a red top and white spots found all over the south coast.

Luther says people are interested in mushrooms for all sorts of reasons: some want to eat them, many enjoy taking photos, while others use them to dye cloth.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW