Ontario cattle farmers concerned as Cargill strike enters second month

The strike at Cargill’s beef processing plant in Guelph, Ontario, is now in its second month, and Ontario cattle ranchers say they are starting to feel the pressure.

The strike, which began May 27, was initiated by workers to protest against rising living costs and the elimination of a $2-an-hour COVID pandemic premium, United Food and Commercial Workers Union regional director Jason Hanley said.

Negotiations for a new four-year contract failed when 82 percent of workers voted against it, leading to the first strike at the Guelph plant.

The strikers have formed picket lines in four six-hour shifts, achieving a 24-hour strike presence along Watson Parkway at Dunlop Drive in front of the Cargill plant.

A month later, Richard Horne, president of the Beef Farmers of Ontario, said the lack of beef processing facilities was causing major problems for farmers in Ontario and parts of Eastern Canada.

“Finding alternative markets is certainly a challenge,” he told CBC News.

Horne said some farmers are finding relief by selling their stocks to livestock dealers and other processors, but that is not enough.

“I think the sustainability of the efforts currently being made to get the situation under control will certainly be questioned the longer this continues,” Horne said.

While there are some options for cattle farmers, Horne said they “cannot replace the loss of this facility with a single alternative source.”

“It is extremely worrying”

Horne said the Beef Farmers of Ontario has experienced setbacks in the past – short-term plant closures and a brief shutdown due to COVID-19 – but that is nothing compared to what is happening at the plant now.

“This type of protracted labour strike is certainly unprecedented in the Ontario market in recent memory,” he said. “It is extremely concerning.”

Mike von Massow is a professor of food and resource economics at the University of Guelph and has been following the strike closely.

He said it was about much more than just a farmer not being able to get his cattle to market. Farmers had invested in the calf, the feed and the veterinary bills.

“You have an asset that you have invested a lot of money in and you are not getting a return on it,” von Massow said.

He said the closure of Cargill’s Guelph facility would also result in a backlog of slaughter-ready animals, further increasing costs for cattle farmers.

“It’s not like a car that you can just park in the parking lot and leave there,” he said. “It’s an animal that you have to keep feeding and keeping healthy.”

Von Massow, however, said Cargill had the better cards in this labor dispute. He said the company is a “large integrated company” that “can satisfy its customers and consumers.”

“Those of us who go to grocery stores, fast food restaurants or restaurants are not feeling the impact of this strike,” he said. “That’s why we are not putting pressure on Cargill to solve the problem.”

But beef producers are feeling the impact of the strike, he added.

“It’s financially tough, it’s psychologically tough and the uncertainty is critical, but it gives workers less leverage in the strike,” he said.

Chuck Miller, a Cargill spokesman, said in an emailed statement to CBC News that talks with the striking workers were continuing.

“Last week, Cargill submitted a proposed settlement in response to an offer from the union. Cargill also proposed a meeting with the union to discuss options for ending this work stoppage, and the parties have agreed to meet next week,” Miller said.

The statement said Cargill was optimistic that an agreement would be reached at these meetings or shortly thereafter.

CBC Kitchener-Waterloo also reached out to the union representing Cargill workers in Guelph, but they did not respond to requests for comment.