Overcapacity crunch time for beef processing plants

Overcapacity crunch time for beef processing plants

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

No fewer than 10 entities or individuals have announced plans to build new beef processing plants in the U.S. I sure hope they are looking at the current and future size of the U.S. beef herd and how much processing capacity the industry currently has. Should they do so with an open mind, they might […] Read more


Provincially and federally inspected plants draw on different labour pools, so they face different challenges.

Comment: Unpacking the report on packers

The beef processing industry has been under scrutiny on both sides of the border. Low cattle prices coupled with high beef costs elicited a general feeling that cattle producers were getting the short end of the supply chain. But the question, as always, is what are we going to do about it? There’s little appetite […] Read more

A big question is where these new processing plants, if they open, will get their cattle from.

New processing plant pipe dreams

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

Who doesn’t dream of building a new, state-of-the-art beef processing plant? As it happens, plenty of people in the U.S. do. Spurred by the perceived lack of slaughter capacity during the worst of the COVID pandemic, more than seven new groups over the past 18 months announced plans to build a plant. There’s one huge […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Japan lifts last of BSE-era restrictions off Canadian beef

Canadian processed beef regains access to Japan

The last of Japan’s import restrictions on Canadian beef and beef products stemming from the BSE crisis has been lifted, allowing access for Canadian further-processed beef. Canada’s federal agriculture department announced Monday that Japan has reopened to imports of “processed” Canadian beef — just days ahead of a significant reduction in Japan’s tariffs on imports […] Read more

A Savoye X-PTS shuttle. Scott Technology has had a joint venture agreement in place with Savoye since 2020 to use Savoye automated carton storage and retrieval systems in Scott material handling systems. Scott said it also plans to use the Savoye system in its project for JBS at Brooks. (ScottAutomation.com)

JBS to automate beef warehousing at Brooks

Packer to replace current fully manual system

International meat packer JBS has enlisted a major robotics and automation company to overhaul the warehousing system at one of Canada’s biggest beef plants. JBS Foods Canada on Friday announced a $71 million project in partnership with New Zealand-based Scott Technology, to design and build a system that can handle and store up to 85,000 […] Read more


Processing capacity is not the issue

Processing capacity is not the issue

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

Beef processing capacity and plant capacity utilization are two different subjects. So I have been fascinated in recent months how some in the U.S. beef industry have equated the two. Their argument is that temporary plant closures and slowdowns in April and early May revealed that the industry needs a lot more capacity, mostly through […] Read more

Comment: The edge

My appreciation for price discovery and other elements of ag markets began with a visit to the Chicago Board of Trade back in 2014. At that time, the futures markets had moved to electronic trading, but the corn options pit was still lively. I talked to several people who’d worked at or near the Board […] Read more