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Poultry

File photo of Smithfield Foods’ pork plant at Sioux Falls, S.D. on April 16, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton)
Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. meatpacking workers often absent after plants ordered to reopen

"There's still so many risks"

By ,
Chicago/Washington | Reuters — Smithfield Foods is missing about a third of its employees at a South Dakota pork plant because they are quarantined or afraid to return to work after a severe coronavirus outbreak, according to the workers’ union. Tyson Foods was forced to briefly close its Storm Lake, Iowa plant — a month […] Read more
Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council chair and Exceldor vice-president Joel Cormier addresses the Commons standing committee on agriculture on May 29. (Video screengrab from Parl.gc.ca)
Livestock, Markets, Poultry/Eggs

COVID concerns weigh on chicken farmers, processors

Sales crashed on lack of foodservice business

By
Ottawa — Chicken Farmers of Canada say they’ve faced a “sharp decline” in sales as a result of a significant drop in food services, which represents roughly 40 per cent of their market. CFC chair Benoît Fontaine warned federal MPs as much during a virtual meeting of the Commons standing committee on agriculture and agri-food […] Read more
(Pabradyphoto/iStock/Getty Images)
Livestock, Markets, Poultry/Eggs, Reuters

U.S. indicts Pilgrim’s Pride CEO for alleged chicken price-fixing

Allegations cover period from 2012 to 2017

By ,
Washington/Chicago | Reuters — The CEO of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., a major U.S. poultry company, was indicted along with three other current and former industry executives on charges of seeking to fix the price of chickens, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday. A grand jury in Denver indicted Jayson Penn, the president and CEO […] Read more
A few tips on livestock risk management
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

A few tips on livestock risk management

Consider the obvious as well as less obvious tools in the tool box

By
The last few weeks have been wild, even though most of us have been locked up at home. Bull sales have moved online and auction markets have been closed to everyone but buyers. Processors are adjusting lines to allow for social distancing and restaurants are closed to everything except pickup and delivery. These factors have […] Read more
[Dave Bedard file photo]
Livestock, Reuters

Cargill to shut Montreal-area meat plant temporarily

Company says 64 workers tested positive for COVID-19

By ,
Ottawa | Reuters — The Canadian arm of U.S. agribusiness Cargill said Sunday it would soon temporarily shut a Montreal-area case-ready meat plant after 64 workers tested positive for COVID-19. The plant is at Chambly, a South Shore suburb of Montreal, one of the worst hit cities in Canada. Cargill said it was winding down […] Read more
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa in this April 24, 2020 file photo. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)
General, Markets

Trudeau pledges $252 million in COVID-19 aid for farmers, processors

Dairy commission's credit line extended for storage program

By
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will invest $252 million to help some of the country’s farming and food processing sectors weather the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday, adding more money could come later if needed. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture, one of Canada’s biggest farm groups, asked Ottawa last week for an […] Read more
(Nadezhda_Nesterova/iStock/Getty Images)
Livestock, Poultry/Eggs

B.C. health officials order two more poultry plants closed

Over 50 COVID-19 cases found at Superior Poultry

By ,
Health officials in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley have ordered two more poultry processing plant closed after multiple cases of COVID-19 were confirmed among employees. Fraser Health announced April 24 it had ordered Superior Poultry Processors of Coquitlam to close after two employees of the chicken processing plant tested positive for the coronavirus. The health district […] Read more
Workers in the JBS beef plant at Brooks, Alta. appear in a screen shot from a 2018 corporate video. (JBS Canada video screengrab via YouTube)
Livestock, Reuters

As meat plant infections rise, Canada lets packers choose when to close

Beef plants at heart of Alberta's largest COVID-19 community outbreaks

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Winnipeg | Reuters — In Cargill’s High River, Alta. plant, supplier of more than one-third of Canada’s beef, 391 workers were sick with COVID-19 when the company suspended operations, according to provincial health officials. But Maple Leaf Foods decided to idle a poultry plant for eight days, in Brampton, Ont., after just three workers were […] Read more
Cemetery employees fill in the grave of JBS USA meat packing plant employee Saul Sanchez on April 15, 2020 at Greeley, Colorado, following his death from COVID-19. (Photo: Reuters/Jim Urquhart)
Livestock, Markets, Reuters

Trump orders U.S. meat processing plants to stay open

Advocates call for protective equipment for plant workers

By
Washington/Chicago | Reuters — President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered meat-processing plants to stay open to protect the food supply in the United States, despite concerns about coronavirus outbreaks, drawing a backlash from unions that said at-risk workers required more protection. With concerns about food shortages and supply chain disruptions, Trump issued an executive order […] Read more
Hog farmer Mike Patterson walks through one of his barns at Kenyon, Minnesota, about 70 km south of St. Paul, on April 23, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Nicholas Pfosi)
Livestock, Markets, Reuters

Piglets aborted, chickens gassed as pandemic slams meat sector

"We have to have less hogs somehow"

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Chicago | Reuters — With the pandemic hobbling the meat-packing industry, Iowa farmer Al Van Beek had nowhere to ship his full-grown pigs to make room for the 7,500 piglets he expected from his breeding operation. The crisis forced a decision that still troubles him: He ordered his employees to give injections to the pregnant […] Read more

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