Family members of longtime JBS USA meat packing plant employee Saul Sanchez gather April 10, 2020 at his Greeley, Colorado home after his death from COVID-19. (Photo: Reuters/Jim Urquhart)

‘Elbow to elbow:’ North America’s meat plant workers fall ill, walk off jobs

Supply chains struggling to keep pace with surging demand

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

Comment: Talking to the new CCA president

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) held its annual general meeting in mid-March in downtown Ottawa. Beef producers and industry folks from across Canada and even some from the U.S. gathered in a Hilton on Queen Street for committee meetings on everything from emergency planning for a livestock disease outbreak to improving risk management programs. During […] Read more



A year-over-year decline in calf crops

A year-over-year decline in calf crops

Market Talk with Jerry Klassen

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve received many inquiries about the price outlook for feeder cattle. Calving season has been in full swing for over a month for many cow-calf operations. Producers are concerned about price behaviour over the next four to six months given the recent meltdown in the financial and commodity markets. […] Read more


(USDA.gov via Flickr)

USDA to probe surging beef prices versus falling cattle prices

Tyson says will co-operate with department's investigation

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Agriculture Department will investigate why a surge in beef prices because of coronavirus-related hoarding did not translate into higher cattle prices for farmers, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Wednesday. The investigation adds scrutiny on the small group of meat companies such as Tyson Foods and Cargill that dominate […] Read more

File photo of the Harmony Beef plant at Balzac, Alta. in 2015. (Canadian Cattlemen photo by Debbie Furber)

Alberta’s Harmony Beef halts slaughter on positive COVID-19 test

CFIA pulls inspectors after plant employee tests positive

Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters — Harmony Beef, an Alberta packing plant, halted cattle slaughter on Friday after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) kept some inspectors from work, due to a positive test for COVID-19 by a Harmony worker, the company said. The partial closure follows a positive COVID-19 test by a worker at U.S. chicken […] Read more


CME June 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit down as grocery panic eases

Widespread layoffs raise concern over beef demand

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell their daily three-cent limit on Thursday on signs that a consumer meat-buying frenzy has cooled, allowing traders to re-focus on plentiful U.S. hog and pork supplies, traders said. The benchmark June lean hog futures contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled down three cents at 68.75 […] Read more

Dennis Laycraft. (John Greig photo)

Beef sector mobilizes against supply disruptions

Keeping border open, meeting demand for beef are top priorities

Teams of livestock and government officials are quickly creating plans and policies to keep the sector functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic, says the executive vice-president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. “Our primary objective obviously is to insure there is stable beef production and trade that can continue under the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dennis […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Uncertainty drags on Canadian cattle markets

Beef demand is strong but cattle prices are under pressure, Canfax says

Cattle markets have tumbled as a result of COVID-19, according to the senior analyst at Canfax. “Feeder markets are off pretty hard, some of them are off 15 to 20 cents a pound, this week,” Brian Perillat said Tuesday. “They have been depressed over the last month. Feedlots too. Fed price is at the low […] Read more

CME June 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs rally after grocery stores depleted

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures surged on Tuesday, fueled by strength in the cash market as the grocery sector looked to restock shelves following heavy buying during the weekend. Bargain buying also helped support the livestock market. Both live cattle and feeder cattle futures were recovering from near 10-year lows hit […] Read more