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)

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

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

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

CME June 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs climb on strong pork exports, wholesale prices

Packer margins, wholesale beef prices support live cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose on Thursday as bullish weekly U.S. pork export data and rising wholesale prices overshadowed worries about a slowdown in the U.S. hog slaughter pace backing up hog supplies, traders said. “You’ve got a combination of export sales being strong (and) the wholesale market trading very firm […] Read more


(JBSsa.com)

COVID-19 surges at reopened JBS Colorado beef plant, union says

A sixth worker has died, UFCW local chief says

Chicago | Reuters — COVID-19 cases at a JBS meatpacking plant in Colorado have more than doubled “in a number of days” and a sixth employee died of the virus, a union official said on Thursday, underscoring the risks of U.S. meat plants reopening. The beef plant at Greeley, about 65 km north of Denver, […] Read more

(Video screengrab from Conestoga Meats via YouTube)

Major Ontario pork packer expects to re-open Monday

Conestoga Meats went offline April 27

The hog slaughter and processing plant billed as Ontario’s second-biggest pork producer expects to be back in business Monday after a week-long COVID-19-related shutdown. Conestoga Meats, based at Breslau, just east of Kitchener, notified hog farmers and shippers on Friday that it would suspend “most operations” during the week of April 27 to May 1, […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Cargill to restart High River beef plant Monday

Over 750 workers confirmed with COVID-19

Ottawa | Reuters — Cargill said Wednesday it will start to reopen its beef processing plant at High River, Alta. on Monday after the plant was forced to close down because hundreds of workers had become infected with the coronavirus. In a statement, Cargill said it would resume operations after a 14-day temporary shutdown, with […] Read more

CBOT July 2020 soybeans with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Soy rises on stronger Brazilian currency

Wheat pressured by rain relief across Europe, export lull

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. corn and soybean futures rose on Wednesday as plans to ease lockdown measures and a move by U.S. President Donald Trump to keep meat factories open tempered fears about demand destruction caused by the coronavirus epidemic. Wheat futures slid, hitting a one-month low as rains in Europe and the Black […] Read more


CME June 2020 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs mostly lower as packing-plant woes persist

Backlog concerns drag on cattle

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures closed mostly lower on Wednesday, setting back from a one-month high set a day earlier in the benchmark June contract as traders mulled the implications of a presidential order for U.S. meat packing plants to remain open, traders said. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered meat-processing plants […] Read more



Canola south of Ethelton, Sask. on Aug. 3, 2017. (Dave Bedard photo)

Supply chain working but canola groups have concerns

Federal field trials need to continue and growers need protective equipment, they say

There have been no issues so far with supplies of inputs and parts, transportation or oilseed processing during the pandemic, canola industry officials report. “We’ve been really focused on making sure farmers have access to inputs and resources to get the 2020 crop in the ground,” Canola Council of Canada president Jim Everson said during […] 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)

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

Advocates call for protective equipment for plant workers

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