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

U.S. ag secretary backs proposed meatpacking investigator

Reuters — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday threw his support behind a proposal to establish a special investigator to address concerns about anti-competitive practices in the meat and poultry industries. Republican U.S. Senators Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Charles Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana have proposed legislation

(TysonFoods.com)

Tyson fires seven managers after probe into COVID-19 wagering

Employees had been suspended following lawsuit

Reuters — Tyson Foods said Wednesday it had fired seven managers at an Iowa pork plant after investigating allegations that they took bets on how many employees would catch COVID-19. The independent investigation, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, came in response to a lawsuit filed by the son of a worker at


Certified beef cattle are pictured on May 13, 2020 at Rancho Estrada in the town of San Agustin, on the outskirts of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. (Photo: Reuters/Jose Luis Gonzalez)

More Mexican beef headed to U.S. dinner tables as supply crunch bites

"I think we're going to leap past Canada this year"

Mexico City/Chicago | Reuters — More Mexican steaks and other beef cuts are headed north of the border after the coronavirus outbreak has hobbled U.S. meat processing plants, potentially offsetting fears of shortages affecting businesses from fast-food chains to grocery stores but angering U.S. ranchers. The Mexican industry chalks up the export growth to new

(JBSS.infoinvest.com.br)

How JBS became collateral damage in a war between billionaires

JBS now plans to tweak U.S. IPO, executive says

Sao Paulo | Reuters — A business dispute between the disgraced billionaire Batista brothers in Brazil and the heir to an Indonesian pulp and paper fortune is throwing a wrench in meatpacker JBS SA’s plans to for a U.S. listing of its international operations, such as its Canadian beef plant. The dispute stems from a


(JBSsa.com)

JBS still keen on U.S. IPO despite scandals

Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS SA, the world’s largest meatpacking firm, remains intent on a stock market listing of subsidiary JBS Foods International in the U.S. despite corruption and food safety scandals, executives said on Thursday. In April all of JBS operations will meet U.S. auditing and compliance requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, JBS

Brazil police probe ag ministry for corruption

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazilian federal police started two separate investigations on Tuesday into suspected corruption at the Agriculture Ministry to benefit meatpacking, dairy and other food companies. The probes into whether inspection procedures were eased in favour of certain unnamed companies comes two months after the country’s meatpacking industry was rocked by a


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Brazil fears lost market share for meat industry

Brasilia | Reuters — Brazil’s meatpacking industry has been badly damaged by a police investigation into alleged unsanitary and corrupt practices, and could lose upward of 10 per cent of its global market share, Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi said Wednesday. Maggi told a Senate committee that the main concern was with the China and Hong



Michael McCain speaking to reporters

McCain CEO says Brandon pork facility needs more hogs, workers

Changes in the temporary foreign worker program will have an impact on Brandon’s hog-processing plant

Manitoba’s hog production is not in line with its production capacity. That was the message brought to the Manitoba Pork Council by Maple Leaf Foods president and CEO Michael McCain last week. Speaking to members of the pork industry at the council’s annual general meeting in Winnipeg, the business leader said now is the time

workers cutting beef at a meat-packing plant

Meat industry needs outside help urgently

The shortage of labour is becoming critical for processors

Labour shortages in Canada’s meat sector are cutting into profitability and resulting in more livestock being sent south for processing, James Law, executive director of the Canadian Meat Council told the Senate agriculture committee last month. “The greatest threat to the future of Canada’s livestock and meat sector at the moment is the severe shortage