It’s been a rough year for feedlots, but slaughter is back to normal, losses have been halved, and the backlog of market-ready cattle is steadily coming down.

Cattle markets: Situation isn’t good but outlook is much better

There's been a 'pretty good recovery' but there's a long ways to go, Canfax official says

Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s been a roller-coaster year and while the ride isn’t over for the cattle sector, the worst may be behind it. “This year has been pretty extreme, but we’ve had a pretty good recovery,” CANFAX manager Brian Perillat said during a presentation at the virtual Canadian Beef Industry Conference. “Things are much better than earlier […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Hog futures rise as pork supplies shrink

Texas cash cattle prices down on week

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose to their highest level in nearly three months on Tuesday after government data showed that the reopening of pork plants after a rash of COVID-19 shutdowns had not boosted supplies. Cattle futures were lower, pressured by signs of weakness in the cash markets, traders said. […] Read more


A local institution for 113 years, the Lloydminster Exhibition Association says it won't make it through the winter unless something changes.

One in 10 ag societies could close their doors by next year

There’s been no government aid, revenues have fallen to near zero, 
and reserves have been used up

Reading Time: 4 minutes Two world wars couldn’t stop them. The Spanish flu couldn’t shut them down. But if government support doesn’t come soon, COVID-19 might do what those global crises couldn’t — close the doors forever on century-old agriculture societies across the country. “I’ll be honest, we have less than six months,” said Jenelle Saskiw, general manager of […] Read more

A Meta Cannabis retail store on Yonge Street in Toronto. (CNW Group/Meta Growth)

Canadian cannabis retailers poised to merge

High Tide, Meta Growth to create biggest weed retailer

Two major Canadian cannabis sellers are poised to create the largest pot retailer in the country by revenue. Calgary retailer High Tide Inc., which operates the Canna Cabana chain of stores in three provinces, announced a merger deal Friday to take up Toronto-based Meta Growth Corp., which runs the Meta Cannabis and NewLeaf Cannabis chains. […] Read more



(PorcOlymel.com)

Olymel’s Red Deer plant holds at one COVID case

Pork plant employee's contacts returning to work

A production line employee at Olymel’s hog slaughter plant at Red Deer, Alta. remains the facility’s lone COVID-19 case after her contacts at the plant tested negative for the virus, the company says. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec ag co-operative Sollio, confirmed the lone COVID-19 case at its Red Deer site on Aug. […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Brandon pork plant’s exports to China suspended

Chinese protocols call for temporary pause, Maple Leaf says

New Chinese rules for exporters and a number of COVID-19 cases among its workers have led Maple Leaf Foods to temporarily halt pork traffic to China from its biggest hog plant. The company said Tuesday it has “temporarily suspended pork exports to China on a voluntary basis due to recent protocols adopted by the Chinese […] Read more

(Olymel video screengrab via YouTube)

Red Deer hog plant books first COVID case

One employee confirmed with virus, 13 isolating as precaution, company says

A major Prairie hog slaughter and processing plant relatively untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic has marked its first case of the coronavirus in a production line worker. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec ag co-operative Sollio, said an employee who reported for work Monday last week at its Red Deer, Alta. plant began showing […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

COVID-19 lands at another Cargill meat plant

Five cases linked to case-ready plant in Calgary

Alberta provincial officials have declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Cargill’s meat further-processing plant in Calgary, with five cases of the coronavirus connected to the facility. Provincial chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted Friday that “there are five cases linked to Cargill Case Ready Meats in #YYC.” Provincial health officials “have visited the plant and […] Read more

(JBSFoodCanada.ca)

JBS to resume U.S. share listing plan after COVID-19 fallout

Management looking also for US$100 million in cost cuts

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s JBS SA is reviving plans to list shares on Wall Street after dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic’s fallout, CEO Gilberto Tomazoni said on Friday, as the world’s largest meatpacker reported strong quarterly results. Speaking on a conference call with analysts following the company’s second-quarter results, Tomazoni said the focus […] Read more