Cargill Closes High River Beef Plant

Cargill Closes High River Beef Plant

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

Substantial flooding in High River, part of Southern Alberta has prompted the closure of one of the largest beef plants in Western Canada.  

Cargill’s High River Plant will remain closed due to washed away roads and surrounding infrastructure that’s been impacted due to floods. The plant hasn’t been directly hit by flooding, but many of its 2,000 employee’s homes are directly affected.

A company spokesperson said that its primary focus is keeping employees safe and allowing them to attend to personal situations. Additionally, the disruption of access to fresh water would impact the company’s ability to operate. On a normal day the plant would process about 4,500 head of cattle per day.

Cargill shut down its operations on Friday and will continue to assess the situation on a daily basis. The plant cafeteria is currently being used by emergency crews. Alberta is home to 40 percent of Canada’s beef cattle herds.