Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the biggest beef packers operating in Canada is pledging $1.7 million for a one-year pilot program to help employees buy or upgrade homes. JBS Foods Canada, which operates Brazilian meat packer JBS’s plant at Brooks, Alta., on Tuesday announced the launch of what it calls the “Homebuyer Dream Fund,” providing zero-interest loans to […] Read more
JBS to help fund home purchases for Brooks staff
Company offering zero-interest loans for down payments
JBS reaches ‘icebreaker’ settlement of beef price-fixing claims
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — JBS has agreed to pay US$52.5 million to settle litigation accusing meatpacking companies of conspiring to limit supply in the $63 billion-a-year U.S. beef market in order to inflate prices and boost profit. The preliminary settlement by the Brazilian company and its U.S. units with so-called direct purchasers was disclosed on Tuesday, and […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market establishes short-term stability
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle traded $2-$4 on either side of unchanged. Steady demand was noted on 800-plus-pound cattle, but calves and lighter weights experienced softer buying interest. Favourable weather and optimal pen conditions along with firmer live cattle futures supported the yearling market. Imports of U.S. corn continue to run 10-14 […] Read more
Transport strains pile on drought-induced feed shortages
Importing U.S. corn not cheap
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers say they are just days away from running out of feed for cattle, due to severe drought last summer damaging crops needed to fatten them over winter and transportation bottlenecks. The drought devastated Prairie pastures and has now forced feedlots in Alberta, the main cattle-producing province, to buy more […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog slaughter hits five-month low on Omicron spread
CME hogs up, cattle down
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rose on bargain buying on Wednesday, traders said, though U.S. pig slaughtering sank to its lowest level since August as rising cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant hit meat plants. Live cattle and feeder cattle futures slumped as traders remain concerned that the highly contagious […] Read more
‘Atypical’ BSE shows up in Alberta cow
Spontaneous case won't affect Canada's 'negligible risk' status, CFIA says
Reading Time: 3 minutes Updated –– Canada’s first case of BSE since the country achieved “negligible risk” status for the brain-wasting cattle disease isn’t expected to affect trade in Canadian beef. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday it has notified the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) of a case of “atypical” bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an […] Read more
Cargill beef plant workers to vote on new negotiated offer
High River workers otherwise headed for strike or lockout Monday
Reading Time: 3 minutes Workers at Cargill’s major beef slaughter and packing plant in Alberta will vote this week on a new offer which it’s hoped will avert a strike or lockout, both due to start Monday. The new offer follows a “marathon” of negotiations Tuesday between Cargill representatives and the bargaining committee for United Food and Commercial Workers […] Read more
Cargill serves lockout notice on High River workers
Company 'willing to keep meeting' after offer rejected
Reading Time: 3 minutes Updated — Whether in a strike or a lockout, workers at one of Canada’s biggest beef slaughter plants took another step toward the picket line this week by voting to reject the company’s latest contract offer. A vote conducted Tuesday and Wednesday by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401 went to the […] Read more
High River beef plant workers to vote on Cargill offer
UFCW bargaining committee is recommending nay
Reading Time: 2 minutes Workers on the verge of striking at Cargill’s major beef cattle slaughter plant at High River, Alta. will vote this week on a new contract offer from the company. However, the union bargaining committee for the workers, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401, is recommending employees vote against the proposal. […] Read more
Brazil plays down BSE risk in suspect cases in people
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo/Rio de Janeiro | Reuters — Brazil’s agriculture ministry said that two cases reported on Thursday of a neurodegenerative disorder in patients in Rio de Janeiro state were not related to beef consumption, tamping down fears of possible BSE causing human illness. Federal biomedical institute Fiocruz, which is investigating the possibility of bovine spongiform […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
