A study released Wednesday warned that beef production shutdowns similar to what occurred early in the pandemic could "easily happen again.''

The Lethbridge Soup Kitchen will be beefed up for months following the generous donation of a 12-year-old 4-H member from Lomond, Alta.

Outbreaks at two southern Alberta meat-processing plants this spring made hundreds of people sick with COVID-19. 

Among the hardest hit were the Cargill plant in High River, Alta., which shut down for two weeks before reopening at reduced capacity. The JBS Canada plant in Brooks, Alta., operated with just a single shift each day for a full month.

You may have heard about price gouging when it comes to PPE and now similar allegations are being made regarding the cost of beef in southern Alberta.

Alberta — long known as Canada's central hub for both beef and oil — has seen both those industries slammed with economic troubles since the COVID-19 crisis began.

Alone, the Cargill plant processes some 4,500 head of cattle daily or more than one-third of the country's total beef-processing capacity.

Consumers could see changes in the price of meat at the grocery store.

Experts and guests covered a variety of topics in the agriculture and beef sectors, like family farm succession planning and the jump in plant-based proteins.

Alberta's most important feed crop for beef production will benefit from warmer temperatures and increased humidity in the future, the University of Alberta research says.