By The Canadian Press

Massive cattle backlog needs processing as beef-packing plants resume full operations

Jun 25, 2020 | 8:07 AM

CALGARY – Canada’s main beef-packing plants are returning to normal operations after COVID-19 outbreaks in the spring but there is still a glut of cattle to be processed.

The outbreaks caused closures and slowdowns at beef-processing plants in Alberta.

Hardest hit were the Cargill plant at High River, which shut down for two full weeks before reopening to reduced capacity, and the J-B-S Canada plant at Brooks, which operated with just a single shift a day for a full month.

Together the two plants process about 70 per cent of Canada’s beef.

Cargill says its facility is now operating at 95 per cent capacity and should be back to normal next week.

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J-B-S says its plant is now fully operational.

Dennis Laycraft with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association says it’s welcome news.

But he says it will take months to reduce a backlog of about 130-thousand cattle caused by the pandemic closures and slowdowns.