Alberta floods force largest beef plant in Canada to stop slaughtering cattle

HIGH RIVER, Alta. – Flooding in southern Alberta has forced the largest beef plant in Canada to stop slaughtering cattle.

Cargill Ltd.’s facility outside High River depends on large volumes of clean water from the town’s treatment plant, which hasn’t been working since floods heavily damaged the community.

A company spokesman says the meat-packer stopped slaughtering cattle last Thursday and won’t be able to resume until High River’s water plant is fixed.

Cargill says its 2,000 union and non-union workers will finish meat packaging operations today, but no one has been laid off.

Hundreds of Cargill workers live in High River and have been out of their homes since last week when water from the raging Highwood River engulfed most of the town.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association says the Cargill shutdown shouldn’t pose big problems for the beef industry unless it lasts for more than 10 days.