
Tag Archives COVID-19

Olymel to close Red Deer hog plant against COVID-19
Hog deliveries suspended 'until further notice'
Meat packer Olymel plans to temporarily close its hog slaughter and pork processing plant at Red Deer, Alta., winding down that facility’s operations starting this week against a rapidly spreading COVID-19 outbreak among workers. The plant, one of Canada’s largest by slaughter capacity at over 45,000 hogs per week, has notified its hog suppliers and […] Read more

Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala makes history as new head of WTO
Geneva-based body leaderless for six months; Trump paralyzed some of WTO's functions
Geneva/Washington | Reuters — Three months after the Trump administration rejected her, former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala received unanimous backing on Monday to become the first woman and first African director-general of the World Trade Organization. A self-declared “doer” with a track record of taking on seemingly intractable problems, Okonjo-Iweala will have her work […] Read more

Foreign workers to lose some travel exemptions in March
Temporary foreign workers (TFWs) travelling to Canada won’t need to quarantine in a government-supervised hotel when they get here – for now — but by mid-March, Ottawa will put more stringent measures in place. Starting Feb. 22, non-essential travellers and essential workers arriving in Canada will be tested for COVID-19 upon their arrival. Non-essential travellers […] Read more

Hopes for a more normal year in the cattle industry
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
The North American beef industry started 2021 with cautious optimism of a return to normalized markets and pricing patterns. The industry especially hopes that even if the COVID-19 pandemic continues well into the year, markets will avoid the kind of extreme volatility seen last year. U.S. packers saw record operating margins throughout last year. But […] Read more

Glacier’s outdoor ag shows preparing digital event lineup
Each show to host multiple online events during 2021
The company hosting Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show and its western counterpart, Ag in Motion, plans to use the online platforms it set up in 2020 to instead host multiple smaller online events this year. Both outdoor ag shows hosted by Winnipeg-based Glacier FarmMedia — the owner of this website — went online in 2020 due […] Read more

Livestock shows pivot to survive hard times
Several Canadian exhibitions adapt their programming to deal with the COVID-19, pandemic, though the future of the agriculture events sector remains uncertain
In its almost century-long history, the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair had only been cancelled once before in a moment of adversity. Toronto’s famed exhibition was put on hold during the Second World War as army barracks were created in the Royal Horse Palace. Canadian soldiers about to ship out to Europe readied themselves in stables […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hogs touch contract high for third day
Cattle futures up with beef exports
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures climbed on Thursday, setting a contract high for the third consecutive day on firm Chinese demand, traders said. Weekly U.S. pork export sales to China, the world’s top pork consumer, reached a three-month high of 17,873 tonnes in the week ended Jan. 28, according to the U.S. […] Read more

Manitoba crop conference recovers allegedly phished funds
Court order frees event organizers' money from frozen account
The organizers of one of the last big Prairie farm events held before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have recovered funds temporarily lost to an alleged phishing scam. The CropConnect Conference — an annual crop production and farm management conference co-organized by Manitoba grain, oilseed and pulse grower groups — has received back almost […] Read more

Kraft Heinz reported in talks to sell Planters snack business
Pandemic-based surge in snack demand wanes
Reuters — Kraft Heinz is in talks to sell its Planters snack business to Skippy peanut butter maker Hormel Foods for about US$3 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal could be announced as soon as next week if talks do not fall apart, the Journal […] Read more

South Africa’s barley growers face bleak outlook on alcohol ban
Ban reinstated against COVID-19 surge
Johannesburg | Reuters — South African barley farmers are bracing for a tough market ahead as demand for the grain used to make beer falls and stockpiles grow after a ban on the sale of alcohol was reinstated as the country battles a surge in COVID-19 cases. The government in December enforced its third ban […] Read more