FOREST PRODUCTS M&A ACTIVITY HOLDS STEADY IN 2014 . . . SMILING HORSE SITE TOO SMALL FOR THREE ANIMALS . . . CLEAN UP THOSE CONTAMINATED CHICKEN PARTS, USDA TELLS INDUSTRY . . . EU SEED TREATMENT BAN LEADS TO CROP LOSSES . . . LOCAL VENDORS SET UP AT OFF-SEASON VENUES . . . OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST...

FOREST PRODUCTS M&A ACTIVITY HOLDS STEADY IN 2014
Source: Pulp & Paper Canada
Global merger and acquisition activity in the forest, paper and packaging sector in Q4 2014 saw an increase in deal volume and total deal value relative to the third quarter (Q3) of 2014. A total of 34 M&A deals were announced during Q4 2014 with a total value of US$2.8 billion and an average (mean) deal size of approximately US$83 million, according to management consulting firm PwC. This compares to 26 deals in Q3 with a total value of US$0.5 billion and an average deal size of approximately US$20 million. (read more)

SMILING HORSE SITE TOO SMALL FOR THREE ANIMALS
Source: The Chronicle Herald
The owners of Smiling Horse Equine Services in Stewiacke aren’t smiling much anymore. They’ve been told by the town that a bylaw rules their property at 134 Main Street East too small to allow them to have three horses. “We’ve been shut out,” said Terry Stanislow, who owns the property – about three-quarters of a hectare – with her partner, David Baker. The couple have lived there for 16 years, initially with Annie, an Arabian horse, and then with the addition of her offspring, Ivan. The trouble started after they added a third horse, Skip, a big Cleveland Bay, in 2012. Stanislow and Baker know the town allows them about one horse per acre, or one horse per 0.4 hectare, and that Skip put them afoul of the bylaw. Last March, they were told by the town that there had been a complaint. (read more)

CLEAN UP THOSE CONTAMINATED CHICKEN PARTS, USDA TELLS INDUSTRY
Source: NPR
Right now, according to government surveys, about a quarter of the cut-up chicken you buy – and about half of all ground chicken – is contaminated with salmonella bacteria. It’s a surprisingly high number, and it was a surprise to the USDA’s food safety officials, too, when they realized this about a year ago. Because up to that point, their efforts had been focused on whole chickens, rather than the cut-up parts. (read more)

EU SEED TREATMENT BAN LEADS TO CROP LOSSES
Source: Ontario Farmer
After regulators in late 2013 banned neonicotinoid seed treatments linked by some to large-scale bee deaths, farmers in Europe have gone back to older chemicals. The problem, according to a new article by Bloomberg.com, is that pests have resistance to many of these products. And that could lead to new infestations expected to cause as much as a 15 percent drop in this year’s European canola harvest, according to researcher Oil World. (read more)

LOCAL VENDORS SET UP AT OFF-SEASON VENUES
Source: The Telegram
With the St. John’s Farmers’ Market closed for the winter, the Winter Market and the year-round Some Good Market are making sure there’s still plenty of opportunity for shoppers looking to buy locally made goods. The Winter Market continues monthly until May. It’s the second year for the market, which founder Krista Elliott started as a way to help vendors out while the farmers’ market is closed. “You have six months where there’s almost nothing that they can attend, and for a lot of vendors it’s not just a hobby, which is great, but it’s also a big part of their income. Even if it’s a supplemental income, it’s still a big part of their income, and it can be hard to go six months without that supplemental income.” (read more)