Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu leaves a news conference in Ottawa on March 23, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Health minister calls treatment of some farm workers a ‘national disgrace’

Ministers discussing changes to Canada's TFW program

Ottawa | Reuters — The treatment of migrant workers in Canada by some farmers is disgraceful and the federal government is seeking to fix the problem, the country’s health minister told a parliamentary committee on Friday, as farms battle COVID-19 outbreaks among their employees. Outbreaks of coronavirus infections have killed three people and infected hundreds […] Read more

File photo of Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam at a news conference in Ottawa on April 9, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Tam seeks details on Ontario’s COVID-19 farm worker guidelines

Windsor-Essex area reports six ag-related outbreaks as of Thursday

Ottawa/Toronto | Reuters — Canada’s top public health official said on Thursday she plans to seek more information from Ontario about the province’s plan to allow some COVID-19 positive people with no symptoms to return to their jobs — a risky policy, according to workers’ advocates and some doctors. Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, issued […] Read more


Layne Chantler of Alliston, Ont. brought this show heifer to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in 2019. (Farmtario photo by Jennifer Glenney)

Royal Agricultural Winter Fair cancelled for 2020

Near-century-old annual ag showcase put off to 2021

Two years shy of its 100th anniversary, Toronto’s Royal Agricultural Winter Fair has been called off for 2020. Organizers said Wednesday the event, which was scheduled for Nov. 6-15 at Toronto’s Exhibition Place, has been cancelled “due to our ongoing concern regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.” First held in 1922, spearheaded by Ontario cattle producer W.A. […] Read more

(Zevei-Wenhui/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. senators question packers over exports to China during pandemic

USDA shows record pork exports to China in April, raising questions about rising U.S. meat prices

Chicago | Reuters — Two prominent U.S. Senate Democrats are pressing America’s top meatpackers to disclose by month’s end how much pork, beef and chicken they shipped to China during the coronavirus outbreak while warning of possible meat shortages at home. The request from Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker increases scrutiny of companies such […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Hog futures drop as China tightens food import restrictions

USDA report bearish on cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures retreated on Monday, with actively traded nearby contracts sinking more than three per cent and hitting life-of-contract lows amid worries about pork exports to China, which has stepped up oversight of imported goods due to COVID-19. China’s customs authority said on Sunday it had suspended poultry imports […] Read more

(LIVINUS/iStock/Getty Images)

Mexico to resume sending farmworkers to Canada after safety agreement

Mexico City | Reuters — Mexico will resume sending temporary farmworkers to Canada after the two countries reached an agreement on improved safety protections for labourers on Canadian farms during the coronavirus pandemic, the Mexican government said Sunday. Mexico said last Tuesday it would pause sending workers to farms with coronavirus infections after at least […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: Futures drop ahead of USDA data

Cattle on Feed report could be bearish Monday

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures fell on Friday, as hog producers and cattle ranchers continue to struggle with a massive backlog even as many slaughterhouses come back online. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly Cattle on Feed report, released Friday after the market close, showed May feedlot placements at 99 per cent compared […] Read more

(CBSA via YouTube)

TFW program to be overhauled after COVID-19 outbreaks on farms

"The piece that's missing is enforcement"

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canada is overhauling its temporary foreign worker program, a government spokeswoman said on Friday, after coronavirus outbreaks on Ontario farms sickened hundreds and led Mexico to demand assurances of proper safeguards. As part of the review, surprise inspections of working and living conditions on farms will immediately increase, Ashley Michnowski, communications […] Read more


Given the sharp increase of wholesale costs, retailers probably won’t be putting beef on sale any time soon.

Don’t expect steak sales for Father’s Day

Price impacts of COVID-19 on the beef industry were wide spread and retailers are still feeling the pinch

This Father’s Day, people probably won’t see sales on their favourite beef steaks—but they shouldn’t blame the butcher or retailer. Blame sits almost entirely on the coronavirus. COVID-19 had a catastrophic impact on beef production in North America. The spread of the virus resulted in several plant shutdowns or slowdowns, which in turn meant significantly […] Read more

A customer shops at a pork meat hall at the Yuegezhuang wholesale market in Beijing on June 17, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Tingshu Wang)

Food exporters to China asked to declare produce coronavirus-free

Declaration puts onus on exporters for product safety

Beijing | Reuters — China’s customs authority has asked food exporters to the country to sign a declaration their produce is not contaminated by the novel coronavirus, three people who received a letter said on Friday. The declaration, seen by Reuters, may be an effort by China to reduce the additional testing it has carried […] Read more