Pilgrim’s Pride underestimated U.S. meat supplies, hurting earnings

Pilgrim’s Pride underestimated U.S. meat supplies, hurting earnings

Reuters – Pilgrim’s Pride, one of the biggest U.S. chicken companies, underestimated meat production at the end of last year, Chief Executive Fabio Sandri said after the company reported a surprise quarterly loss. The company, owned mostly by meatpacker JBS, joined rival Tyson Foods in misjudging that lower beef and pork supplies would increase demand

File photo of a migrating flock of snow geese in Canada. (Pchoui/iStock/Getty Images)

Flu experts gather with H5N1 risk on the agenda

Threat to humans from current strain seen as low

London | Reuters — The world’s leading experts on influenza met this week to discuss the threat posed to humans by a strain of H5N1 avian flu that has caused record numbers of bird deaths around the world in recent months. The group of scientists, regulators and vaccine manufacturers meets twice a year to decide



File photo of wild birds in flight over a lake in Uruguay. (Paz Roca/iStock/Getty Images)

More South American nations report bird flu cases

Brazil still remains free of contagion

Sao Paulo | Reuters — The confirmation of more bird flu cases in South America raised alarm bells in Brazil, which remains free of contagion even after its close neighbours Argentina and Uruguay confirmed cases there on Wednesday. In a press conference to discuss the global sanitary hazard, Brazilian Agriculture Minister Carlos Favaro said Brazil,


(Nadezhda_Nesterova/iStock/Getty Images)

Bill to keep supply management off trade table moving forward

CCA, other groups oppose proposal as Bloc MP's private bill passes second reading

A federal private member’s bill that would codify the current government’s promise to leave supply-managed ag commodities out of any future free trade deals has advanced to the committee stage. Introduced last June 13 by Bloc Quebecois MP Luc Theriault, Bill C-282 came back last Wednesday to pass second reading in the House of Commons

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Alberta poultry sector gets late entry for AgriStability

Participation deadline extended to end of month

In the wake of avian influenza outbreaks in the region, Alberta poultry producers have been granted a late participation option to sign up for the federal/provincial AgriStability income stabilization program. Provincial Ag Minister Nate Horner on Wednesday announced the two levels of government have reached an agreement to allow poultry producers late participation in AgriStability


Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA’s logo on a tower in Jundiai, northwest of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, on June 1, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)

Beef consumption to rise in China, JBS predicts

China seen as more competitive in domestic chicken, pork markets

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Demand for beef in China is expected to rise as the country still has relatively low per capita consumption, Gilberto Tomazoni, chief executive of JBS SA, said on Wednesday during a business conference. He said Brazil and the U.S., where JBS has meat facilities, are well positioned to meet China’s

Consumers have become hyper-sensitive to any potential evidence suggesting abuse of market power and grocers will need to navigate the coming months with extreme caution. Showing more public empathy would be a good start.

Comment: A look behind the optics on food prices

Lessons from a frivolous picture of overpriced chicken breasts

It all started with one reporter taking a picture of an overpriced pack of five boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The cost was $26.87 a kilogram, a world-class sticker shocker and at least double what one would expect to pay for chicken breasts. Within hours, the picture became the lightning rod for frustrated consumers on social


Small U.S. meatpackers get further grants

Reuters – The Biden administration has awarded another US$12 million in grants to upgrade and expand three meat and poultry processing facilities in the U.S. Midwest, as part of a broader $1 billion effort to encourage competition in a highly consolidated industry. The three projects, funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, include a

File photo of wild birds on Pokeshaw Rock in northeastern New Brunswick. (Bouillante/iStock/Getty Images)

Avian flu pops back up in New Brunswick

B.C. only other province with cases so far this month

Highly pathogenic avian influenza in domestic birds in Canada appears to be in check so far this month in most regions of the country outside southwestern B.C. — but for one recent case in Atlantic Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed an outbreak of high-path avian flu in what it describes as