Medium Term Outlook for Canadian Agriculture - International and Domestic Markets

The purpose of this document is to describe the features of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Medium Term Outlook for Canadian Agriculture (previously entitled Medium Term Policy Baseline) covering the period 2008 to 2018. The outlook is an attempt to outline a plausible future of the international and domestic agri-food sectors. It serves as a benchmark for discussion and scenario analysis. The outlook makes specific assumptions and outlines their implications. Since it assumes that policies remain unchanged from existing legislation, the outlook is not a forecast of future events. The medium term assumptions used and published by the OECD/FAO in the Agricultural Outlook are by in large maintained in the AAFC's outlook but updated to reflect short term price forecasts produced and released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in November 2008. The November 2008 macroeconomic forecast published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was also incorporated in the outlook and in particular a 32% reduction in the crude oil price in 2009. AAFC assumed that 3 years will be necessary before the crude oil price returns to the level used in the OECD/FAO medium term outlook. The world prices generated by this process combined with the macro-economic forecast for Canada published by the Conference Board in December 2008 are the key inputs used to produce the Canadian agricultural markets outlook. The key sectors covered are grains, oilseeds and products, special crops, bio-fuels, beef/cattle, pork/hogs, milk and dairy products, chicken, turkey and eggs.Outlook, Agriculture, Cereals, Oilseeds, Bio-fuels, Livestock, Red meats, Milk, Dairy products, Chicken, Turkey, Eggs, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries,

The Impact of Foot and Mouth Disease Outbreaks in Taiwan and South Korea on the Red Meat Industries in Canada and the United States

In addition to trade liberalization, other factors have contributed to the strong growth of red meat production in Canada since the end of the 1980s. In particular, the outbreaks of foot and mouth disease (FMD) in Taiwan and in South Korea eliminated two competitors in the Japanese market. This reduction in supply caused an increase in the price of hogs in the United States and Canada of 2.5% and 3% respectively during the 1997 to 2007 period. The higher price stimulated Canadian production by an average of 5%, and by 2% in the United States. Annual agricultural farm receipts from the hog market were greater by an average of $CD 276 million (9$CD 3 billion over the 11 years. Moreover, the value added in the red meat processing industry was on average $CD 158 million higher (5$CD 1.7 billion. Finally, the value of exports of the red meat supply chain is on average $CD 239 million higher (4.4$CD 2.6 billion during these 11 years.red meats, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, foot and mouth disease, economic impact, pork, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries,

Medium Term Outlook for Canadian Agriculture

The purpose of this document is to describe the features of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Medium Term Outlook for Canadian Agriculture (previously entitled Medium Term Policy Baseline) covering the period 2007 to 2017. The outlook is an attempt to outline a plausible future of the international and domestic agri-food sectors. It serves as a benchmark for discussion and scenario analysis. The outlook makes specific assumptions and outlines their implications. Since it assumes that policies remain unchanged from existing legislation, the outlook is not a forecast of future events. The medium term assumptions used and published by the OECD/FAO in the Agricultural Outlook 2007-2016 are by in large maintained in the AAFC's international agricultural markets outlook but updated to reflect short term price forecasts produced and released by USDA in October 2007. The world prices generated by this process combined with the macro-economic forecast for Canada published by the Conference Board in September 2007 are the key inputs used to produce the Canadian agricultural markets outlook. The key sectors covered are grains, oilseeds and products, special crops, bio-fuels, beef/cattle, pork/hogs, milk and dairy products, chicken, turkey and eggsOutlook, agriculture, cereals, oilseeds, bio-fuels, livestock, red meats, milk, dairy products, chicken, turkey, eggs, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries,

Medium Term Outlook for Canadian Agriculture International and Domestic Markets

The purpose of this document is to describe the features of the MTO covering the period 2010 to 2020. The MTO is a plausible future for the international and domestic agri-food sectors based on current policies in Canada and other countries as of Fall 2010. It serves as a benchmark for discussion and scenario analysis. The outlook makes specific assumptions and outlines their implications. Since it assumes that policies remain unchanged from existing legislation, the outlook is not a forecast of future events. In particular there are no assumptions made regarding the outcome of the Doha round of trade negotiations. It also assumes no impact from climate change and from policy to mitigate climate change nor significant animal disease outbreaks or unusual climatic conditions over the period of the outlook. The starting point of the MTO is world agricultural commodities price projection based on the OECD/FAO Agricultural Outlook for 2009/2019 adjusted with more recent information. The Canadian macro-economic forecasts are from the Conference Board of Canada outlook published in September 2010. In addition, short-term price forecasts have been updated using United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) projections released in October 2010. For example, droughts in some southern hemisphere countries and China as well as the foot and mouth outbreak in South Korea have not been taken into account.Outlook, Agriculture, Cereals, Oilseeds, Bio-fuels, Livestock, Red meats, Milk, Dairy products, Chicken, Turkey, Eggs, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries,

Economic Analysis of the Liberalization of Red Meat Markets in the Pacific Region from 1988 to 2007

The liberalization of red meat (beef and pork) markets since 1988 is a good example of government action that has led to significant gains for the Canadian and American agri-food industries. Japan, South Korea and Mexico are the main countries that have liberalized their red meat markets since 1988. This industry has also benefited from the agreement between Canada and the United States. It has also made gain from the liberalization of the pork market in Australia and the Philippines, and the beef market in Indonesia. This analysis captures the impact on the price received by farmers as well as on Canadian production in the absence of these increased market access. The combination of lower prices and lower production would have caused annual average decreases in farm cash receipts drawn from the cattle and hog market equal to C$776 million and C$486 million, respectively, for a grand total of C$25.7 billion over this 20-year period (1988-2007) for the entire agriculture industry. Additionally, the value added of the red meat processing industry would have dropped by an average of C$432 million per year, for a total loss of C$8.6 billion. Finally, the value of exports of the red meat supply chain would have dropped by an average of C$1.044 billion per year, for a grand total of C$21 billion over this 20-year period.liberalization, benefits, red meats, pork, beef, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries,

Effects of temperature on in vitro sediment reworking processes by a gallery biodiffusor, the polychaete Neanthes virens

Temperature-induced variations in bioturbation could affect sediment mixing processes in the marine benthic environment. In this study, sediment reworking by Neanthes virens (Sars), a widely distributed polychaete in muddy sand communities of northern temperate latitudes, was studied under different temperature conditions representing winter (1°C), spring and fall (6°C), summer(13°C), and tide pool (18°C) temperatures in the lower St. Lawrence Estuary, Québec, Canada. Sediment reworking was quantified using inert fluorescent particles (luminophores) deposited at the sediment surface. Based on the 1-D luminophore distributions obtained after 5 and 30 d, the use of the specific ‘gallery-biodiffusor’ model allowed us to quantify both biodiffusion (Db) and biotransport (Vb) due to the organisms. Our results showed temperature effects on sediment transport. The lowest biotransport and biodiffusion coefficients were measured at 1 and 6°C and did not change with time. The highest biodiffusion occurred at 13°C for both sampling periods. At 18°C, biodiffusion was intermediate while biotransport was maximal. Differences between the 13°C biodiffusive transport and the other temperatures increased with time. Low transport values at 1 and 6°C suggest that a quiescent stage exists for this species at these temperatures, with sediment mixing occurring mostly during burrow construction. On the other hand, sediment mixing resulted from both the burrow construction and maintenance phases at higher temperatures (13 and 18°C)

Alteration and release of aliphatic compounds by the polychaete Nereis virens (Sars) experimentally fed with hydrocarbons

In the laboratory, marine worms were fed with a mixture of algae and several aliphatic hydrocarbons for 15 days. After ingestion by the worms, 34.9% of hydrocarbons are found in the faeces and only 3.1% accumulated in the gut. The comparison between the initial mixture and the faeces shows that the worm’s digestive process lead to changes in the distribution of the n-alkane mixture. These changes are different from those only due to physical processes in the experimental conditions. In our experiment, no variation in the distribution of hydrocarbons in faeces with time and no microbial hydrocarbon biodegradation were evidenced. Our results suggest that marine worm feeding can substantially affect the fate of hydrocarbons in the sedimentary marine ecosystem by predominantly stimulating dissolution processes

Regional Medical Campuses: A New Classification System

There is burgeoning belief that regional medical campuses (RMCs) are a significant part of the narrative about medical education and the health care workforce in the United States and Canada. Although RMCs are not new, in the recent years of medical education enrollment expansion, they have seen their numbers increase. Class expansion explains the rapid growth of RMCs in the past 10 years, but it does not adequately describe their function. Often, RMCs have missions that differ from their main campus, especially in the areas of rural and community medicine. The absence of an easy-to-use classification system has led to a lack of current research about RMCs as evidenced by the small number of articles in the current literature. The authors describe the process of the Group on Regional Medical Campuses used to develop attributes of a campus separate from the main campus that constitute a “classification” of a campus as an RMC. The system is broken into four models—basic science, clinical, longitudinal, and combined—and is linked to Liaison Committee on Medical Education standards. It is applicable to all schools and can be applied by any medical school dean or medical education researcher. The classification system paves the way for stakeholders to agree on a denominator of RMCs and conduct future research about their impact on medical education

Auditory, Visual, and Audiovisual Speech Intelligibility for Sentence-Length Stimuli: An Investigation of Conversational and Clear Speech

Previous investigators have shown that the use of clear speech improves the auditory speech intelligibility of talkers. In the present study, the differences in speech intelligibility for sentences spoken conversationally and in a clear manner were investigated under three different experimental conditions: Auditory-only, visual-only, and audiovisually. Six talkers were videotaped while saying a list of 17 sentences twice: first while using conversational speech and then while using clear speech. The recorded stimuli were randomized and presented to subjects under one of the three experimental conditions, A broadband noise was mixed with the audio signal for the auditory-only and the audiovisual conditions. An auditory, visual, and audiovisual speech intelligibility score was obtained for the tokens of conversational and clear speech spoken by individual talkers. Overall, in each experimental condition, speech intelligibility improved significantly for the tokens of clear speech. However, for the auditory-only and the visual-only conditions there was a significant interaction between talker and manner of speech. In those sensory modalities, the speech intelligibility of some talkers improved when they used clear speech. The results suggest that for an individual talker there is not a direct association in the amount of improvement provided by the use of clear speech across sensory modalities

A review of methods to assess the economic impact of distributed medical education (DME) in Canada

Background: Canadian distributed medical education (DME) increased substantially in the last decade, resulting in positive economic impacts to local communities. A reliable and simple method to estimate economic contributions is essential to provide managers with information on the extent of these impacts. This review paper fills a gap in the literature by answering the question: What are the most applicable quantitative methods to assess the economic impact of Canadian DME programs?Methods: The literature is reviewed to identify economic assessment methods. These are evaluated and compared based on the benefits, challenges, data needs, outputs and potential for use in the DME context.Results: We identified five economic impact methods used in similar contexts. Two of these methods have the potential for Canadian DME programs: the Canadian Input-Output (I-O) model and the Simplified American Council on Education (ACE) method.Conclusion: Choice of a method is contingent on the ability to measure the salient economic impacts, and provide an output that facilitates sustainable decision making. This paper thus fills a gap by identifying methods applicable to DME. These methods will assist stakeholders to calculate economic impacts, resulting in both the advancement and sustainability of these programs over short- and long-term time frames