Pigs Archives - Page 187 of 418

File photo of a small greenhouse operation in Quebec. (ManonAllard/E+/Getty Images)

Increased federal support for TFWs welcomed

By GFM Network News April 14, 2020

Ottawa — The Canadian Horticultural Council says Monday’s federal announcement offering $50 million to help cover the extra costs associated with importing foreign workers this year is welcomed support. “We are finding that there are a lot of increased costs this year with COVID-19 and bringing in the employees, so having the extra money will […] Read more

Family members of longtime JBS USA meat packing plant employee Saul Sanchez gather April 10, 2020 at his Greeley, Colorado home after his death from COVID-19. (Photo: Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

Livestock, Reuters

‘Elbow to elbow:’ North America’s meat plant workers fall ill, walk off jobs

Supply chains struggling to keep pace with surging demand

By Rod Nickel, GFM Network News April 14, 2020

Chicago/Winnipeg | Reuters — At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 U.S. cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to a meat inspector. In Colorado, nearly a third of the workers at a JBS USA beef plant stayed […] Read more

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: June hogs, cattle plunge limit down

COVID-19 shuts more U.S. meat processors

By GFM Network News April 14, 2020

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures tumbled on Monday on worries about declining U.S. meat processing capacity after Smithfield Foods announced Sunday it would indefinitely shut one of its pork plants due to novel coronavirus infections among workers. The closure at Sioux Falls, S.D., affecting four to five per cent of U.S. pork production, […] Read more

General

Federal government to backstop TFW isolation with funding

Employers backed to provide mandatory two-week isolation

By Glacier FarmMedia staff, GFM Network News April 13, 2020

Farming and agrifood employers bringing temporary foreign workers (TFWs) to Canada will get per-worker support to make sure those employees can self-isolate for 14 days on arrival. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Monday announced up to $50 million for such employers to put such measures in place. As part of its response to the COVID-19 […] Read more

File photo of a truck arriving at a Smithfield Foods pork plant at Smithfield, Va. on Oct. 17, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Tom Polansek)

Hogs, Livestock, Markets, Reuters

Smithfield shutting South Dakota pork plant indefinitely

Major packer warns of meat shortages during pandemic

By GFM Network News April 12, 2020

Chicago | Reuters — Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, said on Sunday it will shut a U.S. plant indefinitely due to a rash of coronavirus cases among employees and warned the country was moving “perilously close to the edge” in supplies for grocers. Slaughterhouse shutdowns are disrupting the U.S. food supply chain, crimping […] Read more

Hogs, Livestock

Quebec pork plant to restart at reduced pace

Olymel plant closed due to COVID-19 cases

By Glacier FarmMedia staff, GFM Network News April 12, 2020

Olymel plans to gradually bring a hog plant in Quebec’s Mauricie region out of a two-week shutdown starting Tuesday following a number of COVID-19 cases among its employees. The meat packing arm of Quebec-based Sollio Co-operative Group announced Saturday it will resume slaughter and cutting operations at Yamachiche, Que. starting Tuesday. Nine people working at […] Read more

File photo of a quality control check on fresh peppers in a Canadian vegetable packing plant. (Jeffbergen/E+Getty Images)

Alberta, Ontario open online portals for domestic ag work

Canadian senators call for support for domestic ag workers

By Glacier FarmMedia staff, GFM Network News April 10, 2020

The Alberta and Ontario governments hope to set up “land armies” of available domestic workers to deploy on their provinces’ farms, in the event that seasonal and temporary foreign workers are unavailable. Both provinces this week announced they have set up online portals where residents can connect with farmers in need of workers. Such jobs […] Read more

CME June 2020 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Futures slide as COVID-19 worries roil market

Concerns over meat processing pace drag on cattle, hogs

By GFM Network News April 10, 2020

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures slumped again on Thursday, volatility roiling the market as it faced resistance over surging stocks and growing concerns that meat packers will close plants in the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Lean hog future prices slipped for a second session on concerns about the domestic glut of hog supplies and […] Read more

Hogs, Livestock, Reuters

Smithfield shuts South Dakota pork plant over COVID-19

By Reuters, GFM Network News April 9, 2020

Chicago | Reuters — Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, is temporarily closing a massive plant at Sioux Falls, S.D., the company said Thursday, after more than 80 workers there tested positive for coronavirus. The shutdown is the latest disruption to the U.S. food supply chain from the pandemic and comes as grocery store […] Read more

Crops, Markets

Pandemic to delay StatsCan’s agriculture reports

By GFM Network News April 8, 2020

MarketsFarm — Farmers, commodity traders and market analysts will have to wait a while for agriculture-related reports from Statistics Canada in 2020. The main reason for the delay is the COVID-19 pandemic, said John Seay, an analyst with StatsCan’s agriculture, energy, environment and transportation statistics branch in Ottawa. “Given the COVID-19 outbreak, senior management is […] Read more

GFM Network News

U.S. livestock: Cattle fall sharply as Trump says he’s working to lower beef costs

Alberta Crop Report: Harvest reaches completion

U.S. grains: Corn, soybeans rise on yield uncertainty, firming cash markets

Pigs