Washington/Chicago | Reuters — JBS SA employees started returning to U.S. meat plants on Wednesday, a day after the company’s beef operations stopped following a ransomware attack, disrupting meat production in North America and Australia. A notorious Russia-linked hacking group is behind the cyberattack against JBS, a source familiar with the matter said. Brazil’s JBS […] Read more
JBS plants reopen as White House blames Russia over hack
Olymel gets home province’s backing for plant upgrades
Quebec to invest $150 million in packer
Pork and poultry producer and packer Olymel has picked up equity investments from its home province to support a total of $315 million in plant upgrades. The Quebec government announced Tuesday it would invest $74 million in Olymel through its economy and innovation ministry’s Fonds pour la croissance des entreprises quebecois (FCEQ) plus $76 million […] Read more
Don’t count chickens before they hatch: Tyson bet on wrong rooster
Meat giant books unexpected decline in hatching
Chicago | Reuters — Tyson Foods is laying off a certain type of rooster from its U.S. chicken business after a surprising discovery that eggs fertilized by the male bird hatch less often, resulting in fewer chickens. The world’s largest meat producer by sales will install a replacement across its breeding program by this fall […] Read more
Cargill shuts Ontario chicken plant against COVID
Other packers being sought to take birds
Agrifood firm Cargill is seeking slaughter space for Ontario chickens at other processors after temporarily closing its London poultry packing plant Tuesday against an outbreak of COVID-19 among workers. The company said Tuesday it was “taking this step out of an abundance of caution as our local workforce deals with the community-wide impacts of COVID-19.” […] Read more
Compensation programs hatched for feather sectors
On-farm investment, market development plans on deck
Long-awaited programs to make up for market share lost to imports under the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact are set to roll out to Canada’s chicken, egg and turkey farmers. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and caucus colleagues on Tuesday announced the specific contents of her previously-pledged $691 million, 10-year compensation funding envelope: a Poultry and Egg […] Read more
Brazil’s BRF gets nod to export wings to Canada
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian food processor BRF said on Tuesday Canada has authorized chicken wing exports from two of its plants located in top farm state Mato Grosso. BRF has been seeking to sell more products to Canada to strengthen its position in developed markets and also shore up competition against domestic rivals […] Read more
USDA unveils more COVID-19 aid, mostly for livestock farmers
Funds earmarked for farmers under contract
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday it will pay an additional US$2.3 billion in COVID-19 aid to farmers, directing more money to livestock producers suffering from disruptions in slaughtering and restaurant demand for meat. The aid, which comes from money allocated to USDA from previous pandemic stimulus legislation, follows […] Read more
COVID outbreak shuts Nova Scotia poultry plant
Province closes Eden Valley for at least two weeks
Provincial officials have temporarily shut a chicken and turkey slaughter and processing plant in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, citing recent cases of COVID-19 among employees. Eden Valley Poultry’s processing plant at Berwick will be closed “for at least two weeks,” the provincial health department said in a release Friday. “We know this will be a […] Read more
Singapore approves sale of lab-grown meat in world first
U.S. maker says cultured meat's clearance may set template for future approvals
Singapore | Reuters — Singapore has given U.S. start-up Eat Just the greenlight to sell its lab-grown chicken meat, in what the firm says is the world’s first regulatory approval for so-called clean meat that does not come from slaughtered animals. The meat, to be sold as nuggets, will be priced at premium chicken prices […] Read more
Tighter timeline set for dairy farmers’ trade pact compensation
Feather sector compensation pledged with $691 million in programs
Compensation to Canada’s supply-managed farmers, to offset domestic market share dealt away in two recent free trade pacts, will now move more quickly to dairy farmers — and will take the form of new programs for feather sectors. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Saturday announced $1.405 billion in compensation, as pledged in August last […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
