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Tag Archives COVID-19

CME April 2020 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)
Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit 17-1/2-year low

Cattle also sink as virus measures disrupt markets

By
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures fell on Friday to the lowest point since late 2002 on tumbling pork prices and slowing slaughter rates as measures to control the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools and restaurants and sent U.S. unemployment rates soaring. Cattle futures also dropped as wholesale beef and cash feedlot cattle prices […] Read more
File photo of hogs in transit near Red Deer, Alta. (Stefonlinton/iStock/Getty Images)
Hogs, Livestock, Markets

Canada’s pork sector up to speed, aware of challenges

Processing plants enhancing biosecurity; producers being urged to watch their stress levels

By ,
They’re adding protective plexiglass shields, bringing in trailers to separate groups of workers, and boosting communication on biosecurity. It’s all part of an ongoing effort to ensure pork processing plants aren’t disrupted by COVID-19. “I’m very impressed by our packers, and for the workers for coming to work every day and being there and realizing […] Read more
(Dave Bedard photo)
Dairy Cattle, Livestock

Pandemic planning leads to staff cuts at Agropur

Dairy co-operative enters 'business continuity' mode

By ,
Dairy co-operative Agropur’s “business continuity” plan against the COVID-19 pandemic calls for job cuts and layoffs for about three per cent of its total workforce. Longueuil, Que.-based Agropur announced Thursday it will eliminate 60 positions and temporarily lay off another 200 employees, all from its Canadian operations. In the “unprecedented context” of COVID-19, Agropur said […] Read more
(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)
Livestock

Alberta’s provincial meat inspectors to train for federal duty

Provincial inspectors to be seconded to CFIA-inspected packers

By ,
Provincial meat inspectors in Alberta could soon be seconded to federally inspected packing plants under a new work-sharing arrangement between the province and Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The federal and Alberta governments announced Wednesday they would partner to “increase food inspector capacity” in the province and thus “ensure the continuous operation of Alberta’s food supply […] Read more
Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)
Crops, Markets

CBOT weekly outlook: Pandemic drives Chicago prices lower

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MarketsFarm — The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to pressure U.S. markets, including the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), according to Scott Capinegro, president of Barrington Commodities at Barrington, Ill. “It’s like that movie Groundhog Day. You wake up and it’s the same thing every day,” Capinegro said. There’s a domino effect in the grain industry […] Read more
Columns, Hart Attacks

This will be my first pandemic

What’s my greatest risk factor — a virus or french fries?

By
I am not sure what is going to take me out first — A. the COVID-19 virus (also known as the coronavirus); or B. an overdose of media coverage of the COVID-19 virus. I don’t mean to sound flippant about the COVID-19 virus. As one of those in the high-risk category (a senior citizen) it […] Read more
Beef cattle feeding in Ontario. (DebraLee Wiseberg/iStock/Getty Images)
Finishers, Livestock, Markets

COVID-19 strains already-battered Ontario beef industry

Limited processing capacity remains financial challenge for province's feedlot sector, despite recent increase in retail demand

By
Ontario’s beef industry was already in the midst of an economic crisis, but COVID-19 is worsening the financial toll on the province’s cattle feeders. Due to extremely limited processing plant capacity, an uncompetitive market and disruptions to trade and market access, Ontario’s beef industry was losing an average of more than $2 million per week […] Read more
(PortOfHalifax.ca)
General, Markets

Ottawa expected to ‘officially’ declare ag an essential service

The Western Grain Elevator Association says that designation will clarify things and help to keep grain moving

By ,
Canada’s grain industry expects the federal government will soon officially declare agriculture an essential service. Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), says that designation will have a practical application. “Hopefully it ends all confusion about grain workers at elevators, railway workers and anybody else required for moving grain, as to […] Read more
(PorcOlymel.com)
Hogs, Livestock

COVID-19 cases shut Olymel hog slaughter plant

Facility in Quebec's Mauricie region to close for two weeks

By ,
The COVID-19 coronavirus has made its way into the labour pool at a major pork packing plant in Quebec’s Mauricie region, forcing a two-week shutdown. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec-based Sollio Co-operative Group, announced Sunday it will temporarily close its hog slaughter and cutting plant at Yamachiche, about 20 km west of Trois-Rivieres, […] Read more

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