A new US$325 million beef-processing plant planned for southwest Iowa will process 1,500 head per day and is expected to employ 750 people once it begins operation in late 2023.

For beef processors, the buck stops here

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

As beef producers in Western Canada know only too well, opening a new beef processing plant is the easy part. Running it at an eventual profit is an entirely different matter. Maybe the producers who invested in the ill-fated Rancher’s Beef plant in Balzac, Alta., should talk with the producers who are investing in two […] Read more

Photo: Thinkstock

Cargill, Continental Grain to buy chicken producer Sanderson Farms for $4.5 bln

Reuters – Commodities trader Cargill Inc and agricultural investor Continental Grain Co will buy chicken producer Sanderson Farms Inc for $4.53 billion, the companies said on Monday, at a time when meat prices have been soaring due to strong demand. The deal would see Sanderson Farms, the third-largest poultry producer in the United States, join […] Read more



Canada Beef Market Intelligence Update: Imports rise in Japan

Canada Beef Market Intelligence Update: Imports rise in Japan

Japan’s imports of Canadian beef rose this spring, buoyed by increasing retail demand and expectations that American beef imports would be curbed. Japanese beef consumption remains relatively steady compared to last year’s levels, with foodservice sales anticipated to remain weak for the first half of 2021. Japan’s total beef import volumes in March were 54,200 […] Read more


Is the veterinarian shortage real or regional?

Is the veterinarian shortage real or regional?

Mentoring and partnering with farm animal practices can increase vet student confidence

There was a time when a veterinary help-wanted ad, even for a large-animal practice, would receive a healthy number of applications.  Not anymore.  A perceived global shortage of veterinarians is creating an urban-rural, companion-large animal bidding war for salary, incentives and work-life balance to attract applicants.  Why it matters: Rural and large animal practices are […] Read more

The Blair’s agro centre at Lipton, Sask. (Blairs.ag)

Co-op, Blair’s joint venture to sell one crop input centre

Regulator sees overlap between Co-op, Blair's at Lipton

A new joint venture formed to run seven existing crop input retail centres in central and southeastern Saskatchewan will settle for six. The federal Competition Bureau on Wednesday announced an agreement with Federated Co-operatives (FCL) and the ag retail arm of the Saskatchewan-based Blair’s Family of Companies toward approval of their proposed joint venture. Blair’s […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Maple Leaf takes up Ontario poultry plant

Option exercised on Cericola Farms' remaining facility

A southern Ontario processing plant specializing in organic and antibiotic-free poultry products has gone to Maple Leaf Foods in a postscript to a previous sale. Toronto-based Maple Leaf announced Friday it had closed its purchase of the Sure Fresh Foods poultry plant at Schomberg, Ont., about 30 km north of Vaughan, for an undisclosed sum, […] Read more

(Exceldor video screengrab via YouTube)

Strike ends at Exceldor poultry plant in Quebec

Union members vote to take six-year deal

A month-long strike at one of Quebec’s biggest poultry slaughter and processing plants is ending after unionized workers voted to accept a new agreement reached through mediation. About 500 unionized workers at Exceldor Co-operative’s plant at Saint-Anselme, about 30 km southeast of Quebec City, have been on strike since May 23. The previous contract between […] Read more


Seasonal flu shots are recommended to help limit spread of flu viruses between people and livestock. (Inside Creative House/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Another swine flu variant case appears in Manitoba

Variant of H3N2 confirmed in southern Manitoba resident

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

The USDA building in Washington, D.C. (Art Wager/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. ag secretary backs proposed meatpacking investigator

Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday threw his support behind a proposal to establish a special investigator to address concerns about anti-competitive practices in the meat and poultry industries. Republican U.S. Senators Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Charles Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana have proposed legislation […] Read more