Piglets look out from a fence at Cabanas Argentinas del Sol pig farm in Marcos Paz, southwest of Buenos Aires in December 2008.  Photo: Reuters/Enrique Marcarian

Argentina nears China hog deal it hopes could turbocharge local pork production

Buenos Aires | Beijing | Reuters – Argentina is nearing an initial agreement with China that could pave for the way for potential investments by the Asian giant in local pork production for export, Argentina’s undersecretary of trade and investment promotion told Reuters. That could eventually lead to Chinese-backed hog farms in the South American […] Read more



Photo: File

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures retreat on supply concerns

Chicago | Reuters – U.S. live cattle futures opened firm on Monday but retreated from session highs on technical selling and lingering concerns about cattle supply backups in the wake of recent packing plant closures due to coronavirus infections among workers. Prices climbed at Monday’s open in reaction to Friday’s U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cattle on […] Read more

Photo: File/Reuters

G4 swine flu virus not new, China says

Ag ministry says virus does not infect or sicken humans, animals easily

Shanghai/Beijing | Reuters — China’s ministry of agriculture and rural affairs said Saturday that the so-called “G4” strain of swine flu virus is not new and does not infect or sicken humans and animals easily, rebuffing a study published last week. That study, by a team of Chinese scientists and published by the U.S. journal […] Read more



File photo of a truck and stock trailer on a Canadian roadway. (Ben185/iStock/Getty Images)

Animal welfare activist dies outside Ontario pork plant

Protestor reportedly hit by transport truck

An animal welfare activist has died while attending what’s been described as a “vigil” outside a southern Ontario hog packing plant, as new provincial limits on such activity around livestock are set to take effect. Halton Regional Police Service reported receiving a call Friday morning that a person had been “struck by a transport truck” […] Read more


(Dragos Cojocari/iStock/Getty Images)

Hog sector hit hard by pandemic

Market weakness seen likely to push some farmers out of business

MarketsFarm — COVID-19 has hit the hog sector hard, with the double-edged sword of large supplies and reduced demand weighing heavily on the market. “The prospect of profitability at current forward prices and at current cash prices is nil… and there’s really no prospect of making anything this year,” said Tyler Fulton, director of risk […] Read more

(Dk_photos/iStock/Getty Images)

Pork packer considering Moose Jaw’s ex-beef plant

Donald's Fine Foods announces 'feasibility study'

A potential buyer’s study could soon show whether a former beef packing plant in southern Saskatchewan has the bones to support a pork processing operation for cull sows. Richmond, B.C.-based Donald’s Fine Foods, which since 2010 has operated the Thunder Creek Pork hog plant at Moose Jaw, announced last week it plans to run a […] Read more


(PorcOlymel.com)

Olymel pork plant workers take slaughter into OT

Over 800 volunteered for added shifts with charitable twist, packer says

Workers at three Olymel hog slaughter plants in Quebec volunteered for overtime shifts over the weekend to help clear the province’s backlog of market-weight hogs, the company said Saturday. Sollio’s meat packing arm said over 800 workers at its slaughter plants at Yamachiche and St-Esprit and the former F. Menard plant it now owns at […] Read more

(ComfreyFarmPork.com)

HyLife buys pork packing, hog production capacity

Firm buys stake in U.S. packer, Manitoba hog farming business

Canadian hog production and pork processing firm HyLife has moved to expand its reach in North American pork packing as well as Manitoba hog farming. La Broquerie, Man.-based HyLife announced last week it has bought a 75 per cent stake in Taylor Corp.’s Prime Pork, a packing and processing operation at Windom, Minnesota, about 200 […] Read more