Reading Time: 2 minutes A two-months-and-counting strike at a major Quebec hog slaughter and processing plant is expected to continue through to mid-July at the earliest due to scheduling issues, the workers’ union says. The Syndicat des travailleurs d’Olymel Vallee-Jonction-CSN — which represents over 1,000 striking workers at Olymel’s plant Vallee-Jonction, about 60 km southeast of Quebec City — […] Read more
Olymel strike talks delayed to mid-month, union says
Quebec hog plant's workers on strike since late April
Maple Leaf to buy four Saskatchewan hog barns
Pork processor plans future upgrades
Reading Time: < 1 minute Two sow barns and two nursery hog barns in central Saskatchewan are set to become the property of meat processor Maple Leaf Foods. Toronto-based Maple Leaf announced Wednesday it plans to buy the four barns from Polar Pork, a group of farms spearheaded by members of the Possberg family — well known as the founding […] Read more
Another swine flu variant case appears in Manitoba
Variant of H3N2 confirmed in southern Manitoba resident
Reading Time: 2 minutes A single and apparently isolated case of another influenza variant normally seen in hogs has turned up in a Manitoba resident, the province announced Monday. Manitoba Public Health on Monday said the H3N2 influenza variant (H3N2v) seen in this case is related to flu viruses that circulate in pigs, noting that while such viruses don’t […] Read more
Olymel gets home province’s backing for plant upgrades
Quebec to invest $150 million in packer
Reading Time: 2 minutes 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
Workers call strike at Olymel hog plant in Quebec
Producers urged to prioritize heavier hogs when shipping
Reading Time: 2 minutes Talks toward a new contract for unionized employees at meat packer Olymel’s hog slaughter and processing plant in Quebec’s Beauce region have ended in a strike. The Syndicat des travailleurs d’Olymel Vallee-Jonction-CSN, which represents over 1,000 staff at Vallee-Jonction, about 60 km southeast of Quebec City, called an “indefinite” strike effective Wednesday morning, the union […] Read more
JBS profit bolstered by weak currency, strong Chinese and U.S. markets
China became third largest beef export market for JBS Canada, company says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Meat processor JBS SA’s fourth-quarter profit rose 65 per cent from a year earlier, boosted by strong food sales in China and the U.S. and a sharp devaluation of Brazil’s real currency, the company said in a securities filing on Wednesday. For full-year 2020 its profit was 4.6 billion reais, […] Read more
Hog market recovering from pandemic lows
China again a major driver of hog values
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — In April 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, prices for lean hog futures dropped to their lowest point since 2002, falling below US$40 per hundredweight. Nearly a year later, the industry is in the middle of a speedy recovery. At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Thursday, lean hog futures […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs follow broader commodities markets lower
"We were a little top heavy coming in"
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle and hog futures posted steep losses in most contracts on Thursday as a broad-based commodities market selloff, led by sinking crude oil and a firmer U.S. dollar, weighed on prices. Fundamental factors for both cattle and hogs remained solid amid strong beef and pork exports and good […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs up on tightening hog supplies, strong pork demand
CME live cattle futures mixed
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures were mostly higher on Tuesday on lofty pork prices, tightening hog supplies and hopes for improved meat demand as economies begin to fully re-open after coronavirus pandemic shutdowns. Hog supplies have tightened following liquidation of the U.S. sow herd last year and some disease-related U.S. […] Read more
Alberta hog farmers to get set-aside via AgriRecovery
Producers get funds for feeding held-back market hogs
Reading Time: 3 minutes An AgriRecovery plan announced Friday is set to pay eligible Alberta farmers 95 cents per day per market-ready hog toward the animals’ upkeep during the shutdown of the province’s biggest hog slaughter plant. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Sollio Co-operative, reopened its plant at Red Deer this week after announcing Feb. 15 it would […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
