Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. government has indicted six more chicken-industry executives over alleged price-fixing, broadening antitrust prosecutions in its probe of the US$65 billion poultry sector. In June, the Justice Department indicted Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Jayson Penn and three others in its first charges in the criminal probe involving broiler birds, which account […] Read more
U.S. indicts six more chicken-industry execs over alleged price fixing
Case alleges executives conspired to inflate prices for broilers
Ontario meat processor buys into poultry slaughter
ADP Direct buys Cami International
A growth-minded Toronto poultry and deli meat further-processing company has made a vertical move with a deal for a federally-inspected Niagara-area poultry slaughter plant. ADP Direct Poultry announced Friday it has bought up 100 per cent ownership of Cami International Poultry, a slaughter and processing facility at Welland, Ont., for an undisclosed amount. The deal […] Read more
Olymel to ramp up processing at Quebec poultry plant
St-Damase expansion work to take about a year
Olymel plans to bring more of its poultry further-processing in-house with a $31.5 million expansion at one of its major slaughter and cutting plants in Quebec’s Monteregie. The meat packing arm of Quebec’s Sollio Co-operative Group announced Monday it had started work that day on a 35,200-square foot plant expansion at St-Damase, about 50 km […] Read more
U.S. rolls back inspection rules for egg products
New rule to affect 83 U.S. facilities
Chicago | Reuters — The Trump administration said Wednesday it will stop requiring U.S. plants that produce egg products to have full-time government inspectors, in the first update of inspection methods in 50 years. Under a new rule that takes effect immediately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will allow companies such as Cargill and Sonstegard […] Read more
Pandemic poultry: Interest in backyard chickens is soaring
Alberta Farm Animal Care’s virtual backyard chicken courses attracting a flock of attendees
Reading Time: 3 minutes Like yoga pants, Netflix, sourdough bread and puppies, backyard chickens have seen a surge in demand during the pandemic. Alberta Farm Animal Care has been putting on workshops for several years to ensure new chicken owners put their birds’ welfare at the top of their list. It had more planned for this year. “And then […] Read more
Quebec packer buying Maple Leaf chicken plant
Avicomax's supply agreements with farmers remain
A family-owned Quebec poultry packer specializing in antibiotic-free and organic chicken is set to buy a Maple Leaf Foods facility in the same line of work. Volaille Giannone, which operates a poultry slaughter and packing plant at St-Cuthbert, about 65 km southwest of Trois-Rivieres, announced Thursday it has a deal in place to buy Maple […] Read more
Elanco forgoes Canadian poultry insecticide rights for Bayer deal
Reuters — Elanco Animal Health has decided against acquiring Bayer’s Canadian distribution rights to several poultry insecticides, Canada’s Competition Bureau said on Tuesday, as it looks to complete a $7.6-billion deal. The U.S.-based company will also divest its canine ear infection treatment product Osurnia and Bayer’s feline dewormer Profender to address competition concerns about its […] Read more
Fall quota level based on ‘rebound’ in chicken demand
National allocation trimmed two per cent for September-October period
A relatively small tweak to national chicken quota allocation has been set for much of this autumn, following a stretch of heavy pandemic-related cuts. At a Chicken Farmers of Canada meeting Tuesday, national allocation for quota period A-165 (Aug. 30 to Oct. 24, 2020) was set at minus two per cent from its adjusted base. […] Read more
COVID concerns weigh on chicken farmers, processors
Sales crashed on lack of foodservice business
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
U.S. indicts Pilgrim’s Pride CEO for alleged chicken price-fixing
Allegations cover period from 2012 to 2017
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
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