Minnesota pork plant in jeopardy as soaring inflation dents demand

Apr 17, 2023

Hog plants are at risk of shutting as soaring inflation hampers demand for pork while feed costs climb.

Closely held Canadian HyLife Foods is looking for a buyer for its pork plant southwest of Minneapolis just three years after it purchased the facility, which processes about 1.2 million hogs annually. Olymel, another Canadian company, announced Friday it will permanently close its slaughter plant in Vallee-Jonction, Quebec, impacting about 1,000 workers.

“The decision was necessary to stop losses in the fresh pork sector, which have amounted to more than $400 million over the past two years and are jeopardizing the entire company’s profitability,” Olymel Chief Executive Officer Yanick Gervais said in a statement.

Hog prices have been sliding amid concern pork supplies are outpacing demand for the meat. Additionally, the industry has faced labor shortages and rising costs of inputs like feed. That’s made it difficult for some operations to stay profitable.

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Video: WARNING! Rough Start To Breeding Season!!

WARNING! Sheep Breeding Season Begins With A Bang! Breeding season is officially underway at Ewetopia Farms, but it didn’t exactly start the way we planned!

This vlog begins with us sorting through our rams to find the perfect match for a customer’s breeding program. What should have been routine quickly turned dangerous when one of our more nervous rams panicked. In seconds, Arnie’s knee was injured, and then I was slammed hard onto the concrete floor — both of us taken down by one ram!

Thankfully, it was just bruises, but it’s a reminder of how unpredictable and powerful mature rams can be. Once we recovered, it was time to get back to the real work — the start of breeding season.

We sorted the ewes into four breeding groups (two Suffolk and two Dorset), checking parentage as they ran through the chute, deworming those that needed it, and setting aside thinner ewes for session two of breeding season in a month’s time.This staggered approach keeps lambing organized and prevents overcrowding in the barns.

From rogue rams to the excitement of new breeding groups, this episode is full of action. Stay tuned for the next vlog, where we’ll share how we chose the rams for each group!