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By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup

Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday April 21, 2020

Apr 21, 2020 | 8:39 AM

Cargill has begun the process of temporarily idling its beef plant in High River, Alta. because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The company is also encouraging all its employees to get tested as soon as possible.

One Cargill worker has died of COVID-19 with 484 other cases directly tied to the facility. Of those, 360 work at the High River plant and another 124 people have come in contact with an employee.

Spokesperson Daniel Sullivan said there was no estimated timeline for when operations would resume.

Earlier this month, Cargill reduced production at its High River plant after several dozen workers became infected with the virus.

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The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) has decided to postpone its annual general meeting and convention.

SSGA president Bill Huber said holding a meeting during the pandemic is not possible.

“Our members really look forward to our AGM and convention, and we could have held off to see if the situation started to change but people have to make plans. The best thing to do was to make a decision based on what we know now,” he said.

The event was scheduled for June 7 to 9 in Assiniboia. The SSGA is also exploring the option of hosting a virtual conference.

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African swine fever (ASF) continues to decimate China’s pig population.

Reuters is reporting ASF was found in pigs transported to the southwestern province of Sichuan.

About 12 cases have been reported by China’s agriculture ministry in the past two months as the disease continues to infect pigs in the world’s top pork producer.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF