June 25, 2013

Cargill shuts down High River beef plant operation

Cargill was prompted to close its beef plant in High River, part of Southern Alberta due to substantial flooding in the area.

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 has not 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 (Jun 21) 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% of Canada's beef cattle herds.