Covid vaccine mandates affecting pig and feed shipments between U.S., Canada
Canadian pigs headed to the U.S. to be fed and slaughtered are getting stuck in Canada, while feed is stranded in the U.S. as new vaccine rules exacerbate a labor shortage for truckers and railroad employees.
Bloomberg reported that many weaned pigs could not be shipped to Iowa, Minnesota and the Dakotas due to the lack of truck drivers. Many of the pigs are shipped out of Manitoba and the providence can’t feed and process a surge of hogs domestically, said Cam Dahl, general manager of Manitoba Pork. Last year, Manitoba shipped about 3 million weaned pigs to the U.S. to be finished.
At the same time, some truck shipments of soybean meal from the U.S. to Manitoba are also being limited. Due to the drought last year, Alberta cattle feeders are also importing large amounts of corn and dried distillers’ grains (DDGs) from the U.S., according to RealAgriculture. Corn has been shipped in via rail, but there have been shipping delays. DDGs are trucked up from Montana.
Canadian livestock producers say the vaccine mandates could worsen the shipping issues. On Jan. 15, Canada’s vaccine mandate took effect, meaning Americans crossing into Canada need to be fully vaccinated and Canadians must quarantine when they return to the country. On Jan. 22, U.S. vaccine mandate rules on Canadians entering the country will take effect.
