Modeled after a set-aside program used in Canada after the BSE crisis in 2004, the Fed Cattle Set-Aside Program proposal would fund placing cattle on a maintenance diet for 75 days.
Early week fed cattle sales were steady at $95 to $100 per cwt., and $150 dressed. Friday, however, saw one major jump in and buy a few thousand cattle at $105, $5 higher than last week.
R-CALF USA has asked President Trump and House and Senate leaders to conduct a review the beef supply chain and consider “whether a physical and geographical restructuring of the meatpacking industry is required.”
Kansas officials are actively working to keep the state’s beef packing facilities operational in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, including a plan to quarantine positive citizens in some vacant state facilities.
Cargill’s High River, Alta., beef harvest facility has slowed to one shift beginning this week to prioritize the health and safety of employees, reducing harvest to about 1,500 head per day.
Dozens of workers at Tyson’s Pasco, WA, beef plant have tested positive for COVID-19, but the plant will remain open under heightened health and safety procedures.
JBS USA says its Greeley, Colo., beef plant will be closed through Tuesday for “deep cleaning” in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19 among its thousands of employees. Two employee deaths have been reported.
