(Sollio Co-operative Group video screengrab via YouTube)

Olymel restarting hog slaughter at Red Deer

Work to resume at pork plant this week

Meat packer Olymel plans to restart slaughter operations Thursday at one of Canada’s largest hog plants following a major outbreak of COVID-19 among employees. Olymel, an arm of Sollio Co-operative, said late Wednesday it had recalled “employees that are needed to ensure that the gradual restarting of operations goes smoothly” at its Red Deer, Alta. […] Read more

(Olymel video screengrab via YouTube)

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

Consumers have become more interested in pork over the last 10 years as they learn more about its preparation.

Pork’s affordability may create opportunities

Industry told it can capitalize on COVID-19-driven changes with cheaper meat and convenience

Glacier FarmMedia – Sylvain Charlebois sees opportunities for pork, and by extension hog producers, amid trends emerging from the pandemic. The Dalhousie University professor and researcher, who has become known as The Food Professor, told participants at the Banff Pork Seminar that the hog industry should find new ways to present pork to capitalize on […] Read more

(PorcOlymel.com)

Former F. Menard hog plant upgrading for second shift

Olymel announces $9 million in renovations

Pork and poultry packer Olymel plans to dial up its pork output with a new evening shift at a Quebec hog plant it now owns in the province’s Monteregie. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Sollio Co-operative Group, said Friday it will invest $9 million in renovations at its slaughter, cutting and deboning plant at […] Read more

CME April 2021 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs set contract high on strong demand, lighter weights

CME cattle futures close lower

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures on Wednesday reached a contract high for the second consecutive day on strong demand and a decline in farm animal weights, analysts said. Average hog weights have declined as processors have cleared a backlog of hogs on farms that began last spring when COVID-19 outbreaks temporarily shut […] Read more


File photo of a Chinese cornfield. (Baona/iStock/Getty Images)

China’s 2020 corn, wheat imports reach record highs

Beijing | Reuters — China’s grains imports soared to record highs in 2020, customs data showed on Monday, after tight domestic corn supplies pushed prices to multi-year peaks, driving demand for cheaper imports. China, the world’s top agricultural market, bought a record 11.3 million tonnes of imported corn last year, including 2.25 million tonnes in […] Read more

File photo of piglets at a hog operation in China. (KuLouKu/iStock/Getty Images)

China’s 2020 pork output higher than expected

Reported slowing of ASF-induced decline beats expectations

Beijing | Reuters — China’s pork output posted significant signals toward recovery last year after the sector was decimated by an incurable hog disease in 2019, official data showed Monday. China’s 2020 pork output fell 3.3 per cent from a year earlier, to 41.13 million tonnes, after plunging 21 per cent in 2019, the National […] Read more

The USDA building in Washington, D.C. (Art Wager/iStock/Getty Images)

USDA unveils more COVID-19 aid, mostly for livestock farmers

Funds earmarked for farmers under contract

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday it will pay an additional US$2.3 billion in COVID-19 aid to farmers, directing more money to livestock producers suffering from disruptions in slaughtering and restaurant demand for meat. The aid, which comes from money allocated to USDA from previous pandemic stimulus legislation, follows […] Read more



CME February 2021 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle sink on profit-taking, technical selling

Lean hogs, feeder cattle mixed

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures fell on Monday in a profit-taking and technical-selling setback amid concerns about weaker demand for cattle and beef, traders said. Position rolling by funds, as they closed out long positions in the spot month and bought deferred contracts on the second day of the five-session “Goldman roll” period, […] Read more