JBS Food expands beef processing in Alberta

Jul 17, 2024

JBS Canada is increasing beef processing and developing a state-of-the-art fulfilment centre in Brooks, Alta. to help accommodate the increased production.

JBS Canada has received conditional approval for a tax credit estimated at $10.7 million through the Alberta government Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program. Corporations who invest at least $10 million in a project to build or expand a value-added agri-processing facility in Alberta is offered a 12 per cent non-refundable tax credit base on eligible capital expenditures.

Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation RJ Sigurdson said the processing line and warehouse expansion are already underway and are expected to be complete by fall 2025. The project will create up to 24 permanent jobs and 170 temporary jobs.

“JBS Canada’s facility expansion is an important step towards meeting the demand for Alberta beef products. Agri-food production is a major economic force in our province and this tax credit program is attracting even more growth and development for the industry,” he said.

In 2023, Alberta beef production totaled almost one million tonnes, with meat product sales totaling $12.2 billion. Alberta is Canada’s largest cattle-producing province with an estimated 5.26 million head as of July 1, 2023. Alberta’s meat product manufacturing industry employed 18,700 people last year. Beef is Alberta’s largest agri-food export, with $3.9 billion in exports last year.

With the expansion, JBS Canada will produce almost seven million more kilograms of beef patties every year for restaurants in Western Canada.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.