Canadian beef producers pay more than their American counterparts for SRM removal, and some Ontario beef farmers want the BFO to ask the Canadian Cattle Association to set money aside to fight to harmonize the fees.

Ontario beef producers frustrated by delays in resolving SRM issue

BFO members demand advancements in equalizing SRM removal percentages

A resolution demanding action on specified risk materials received mixed reactions at the Beef Farmers of Ontario annual general meetingFeb. 22. Dale Mountjoy from Durham moved and spoke to the resolution, asking the BFO to request that the Canadian Cattle Association allocate $1 million for legal fees to harmonize specified risk material (SRM) requirements with […] 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

(JBSFoodCanada.ca)

JBS resumes second shift at Alberta beef plant

Out of 650 COVID cases at plant, 11 are 'active'

Meat giant JBS’s Alberta beef packing plant has resumed two daily shifts as of Thursday, as fewer than a dozen of its 2,600-plus employees are now sidelined by COVID-19. The JBS plant at Brooks, about 170 km east of Calgary, is “slowly returning to two shifts as of today,” the company said Thursday in a […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Cargill to restart High River beef plant Monday

Over 750 workers confirmed with COVID-19

Ottawa | Reuters — Cargill said Wednesday it will start to reopen its beef processing plant at High River, Alta. on Monday after the plant was forced to close down because hundreds of workers had become infected with the coronavirus. In a statement, Cargill said it would resume operations after a 14-day temporary shutdown, with […] Read more


Water vapour imagery from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s GOES East satellite on April 10, 2019 shows a powerful late-season winter storm expected to bring heavy snow and high winds to parts of the north-central U.S. Plains and the upper Midwest. Bright blue and white areas indicate high water vapour or moisture content. (Satellite map courtesy NOAA)

Blizzard forces closure of some U.S. grain processors, elevators

Chicago | Reuters — A second “bomb cyclone” blizzard hitting the United States was limiting the movement and processing of corn, soybeans and wheat around the Midwest and Plains on Thursday. Grain trader Cargill said it was closing three of its grain handling facilities in Minnesota, two in South Dakota and one in Nebraska on […] Read more