Meat giant JBS’s Alberta beef packing plant has resumed two daily shifts as of Thursday, as fewer than a dozen of its 2,600-plus employees are now sidelined by COVID-19. The JBS plant at Brooks, about 170 km east of Calgary, is “slowly returning to two shifts as of today,” the company said Thursday in a […] Read more
JBS resumes second shift at Alberta beef plant
Out of 650 COVID cases at plant, 11 are 'active'
Klassen: Feeder market jumps on renewed optimism
Weekly slaughter pace improving
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle over 800 lbs. traded $8-$10 higher while lighter weight categories were up $4 to as much as $12 in some cases. Feeder cattle under 800 lbs. were very well bid across the Prairies; feeder cattle under 700 lbs. are now trading at prices similar to late February, […] Read more
Prairie cash wheat: Bids weaken with seeding underway
MarketsFarm — Spring wheat bids in Western Canada lost ground during the week ended Thursday, with losses in U.S. futures and improving Prairie seeding weather weighing on values. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down by 50 cents to $1 per tonne, according to price quotes from a […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Barley, wheat holding fairly well
MarketsFarm — Feed prices for wheat and barley have softened over the last month, said Erin Harakal, senior trader for Agfinity at Stony Plain, Alta. “Right now for wheat, we have seen it drop off in the last little bit,” she said, noting barley prices have slipped as well. Harakal pointed to the overwintered barley […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market banks on fed cattle recovery
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were $4 higher to $4 lower, with the exception of southern Alberta where quality packages were unchanged to $6 higher. Calves and grass cattle traded $2 lower to as much as $5 higher. Certain auctions in Western Canada reported calves trading $4 to as much as $8 […] Read more
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Cargill to shut Montreal-area meat plant temporarily
Company says 64 workers tested positive for COVID-19
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
Klassen: Yearlings trade lower, calves ratchet higher
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were $4-$6 lower; mid-weight feeder cattle traded $2 higher to $4 lower. Lighter calves and grassers were quite variable. In Alberta, these cattle ranged from unchanged to as much as $8 higher on average while in the eastern Prairie regions, calves traded $4 lower to $4 higher. […] Read more
Cargill’s High River plant reopens with two slaughter shifts
Cutting line to resume Wednesday
Cargill’s southern Alberta beef packing plant, estimated to be responsible for over a third of Canada’s beef processing capacity, restarted Monday after a two-week COVID-19-related shutdown — but at a quicker pace than previously expected. The company said in a statement Monday it is resuming operations at the High River plant “with two shifts” in […] Read more
Prairie cash wheat: Bids mixed
MarketsFarm — Wheat bids in Western Canada were mixed during the week ended Friday, with some gains observed in Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat, and a mixed tone for Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR). Durum (CWAD) saw small losses. Average CWRS (13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were steady to up by $4 per […] Read more
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