Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — JBS USA said on Monday it would indefinitely shut a Minnesota hog slaughterhouse that produces about five per cent of the country’s pork, in the latest disruption to the U.S. food supply chain from the coronavirus pandemic. The closure limits the amount of meat the United States can produce for consumers […] Read more
JBS shuts Minnesota pork plant due to coronavirus
Trump administration aims to buy milk, meat to help farmers, Perdue says
Homeland Security to ease visa rules for ag workers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The U.S. government plans to buy milk and meat from farmers as part of an initial US$15.5 billion effort to help them weather the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday. The decision comes amid rising pressure from the U.S. farm lobby for government purchases as growers and […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise as traders hope slaughterhouses reopen soon
Hogs more sensitive to packer disruptions
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures rose Tuesday in a turnaround from recent losses, supported by a temporary easing of concerns over meat plants’ shutting due to cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus among workers, analysts said. Livestock markets have been fixated on shutdowns of meat plants because processing disruptions cause a backup in supplies […] Read more
‘Elbow to elbow:’ North America’s meat plant workers fall ill, walk off jobs
Supply chains struggling to keep pace with surging demand
Reading Time: 4 minutes Chicago/Winnipeg | Reuters — At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 U.S. cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to a meat inspector. In Colorado, nearly a third of the workers at a JBS USA beef plant stayed […] Read more
China’s beef imports to drop as hotpot comes off the boil
Reading Time: 3 minutes Beijing | Reuters — Just over two months ago, the Jinyuan Fucheng Beef Hotpot restaurant in northern Beijing had a long line of customers waiting outside its doors almost every night of the week. Now, the restaurant that can seat 800 barely fills 20 tables a day, with most people still wary of dining out […] Read more
Smithfield shutting South Dakota pork plant indefinitely
Major packer warns of meat shortages during pandemic
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, said on Sunday it will shut a U.S. plant indefinitely due to a rash of coronavirus cases among employees and warned the country was moving “perilously close to the edge” in supplies for grocers. Slaughterhouse shutdowns are disrupting the U.S. food supply chain, crimping […] Read more
Quebec pork plant to restart at reduced pace
Olymel plant closed due to COVID-19 cases
Reading Time: 2 minutes Olymel plans to gradually bring a hog plant in Quebec’s Mauricie region out of a two-week shutdown starting Tuesday following a number of COVID-19 cases among its employees. The meat packing arm of Quebec-based Sollio Co-operative Group announced Saturday it will resume slaughter and cutting operations at Yamachiche, Que. starting Tuesday. Nine people working at […] Read more
Smithfield shuts South Dakota pork plant over COVID-19
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, is temporarily closing a massive plant at Sioux Falls, S.D., the company said Thursday, after more than 80 workers there tested positive for coronavirus. The shutdown is the latest disruption to the U.S. food supply chain from the pandemic and comes as grocery store […] Read more
Canada’s pork sector up to speed, aware of challenges
Processing plants enhancing biosecurity; producers being urged to watch their stress levels
Reading Time: 2 minutes They’re adding protective plexiglass shields, bringing in trailers to separate groups of workers, and boosting communication on biosecurity. It’s all part of an ongoing effort to ensure pork processing plants aren’t disrupted by COVID-19. “I’m very impressed by our packers, and for the workers for coming to work every day and being there and realizing […] Read more
COVID-19 cases shut Olymel hog slaughter plant
Facility in Quebec's Mauricie region to close for two weeks
Reading Time: 2 minutes The COVID-19 coronavirus has made its way into the labour pool at a major pork packing plant in Quebec’s Mauricie region, forcing a two-week shutdown. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec-based Sollio Co-operative Group, announced Sunday it will temporarily close its hog slaughter and cutting plant at Yamachiche, about 20 km west of Trois-Rivieres, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
