By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday January 5, 2021

Jan 5, 2021 | 9:54 AM

MELFORT, Sask. – Canada’s railways reported record levels of grain shipments.

Canadian Pacific Railway (CP Rail) said it moved a calendar year record 31.32 million tonnes of Canadian grain and grain products in 2020.

CP Rail reported it moved a record 8.84 million tonnes in the fourth quarter, with a record haul of 2.84 million tonnes in December.

CP Rail added 3,700 of its commitment for 5,900 hopper units. It carried 15 per cent more volume and 10 per cent more weight compared with older cars they are replacing.

Canadian National (CN Rail) shipped a record of over 2.84 million tonnes of grain by rail car in December, bringing the volume from the 2020-21 crop year-to-date to 14.5 million tonnes. It exceeded the previous record pace volume by nearly two million tonnes or over 15 per cent.

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CN Rail representative Jonathan Abecassis said the company shipped 9.25 million tonnes in the fourth quarter and over 32 million tonnes in calendar 2020 setting new records. He added the numbers do not include grain shipped by intermodal container, which is also at a record level for CN.

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Cargill is slowly resuming operations at a beef plant at Guelph, Ont.

The company temporarily closed its Better Beef plant on Dec. 17 when its workforce recorded roughly 60 positive COVID-19 cases.

It’s unknown exactly when the plant will return to full capacity, but the re-opening began Dec. 29 with fabrication shifts resuming Jan. 2.

There were also additional positive community cases linked to the plant.

Approximately 1,900 head of cattle can be processed per week.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF