Donald's Fine Foods Buys Former Beef Plant Plans To Convert It To Cull Sow Operation

By Robert Thomas

The fate of the shuttered beef plant may finally be decided as Donald's Fine Foods, the owner of the Thunder Creek Pork Plant on Lillooet Street West, have purchased the former XL Beef Plant on Caibou Street West.

The shuttered former XL Beef Plant - MJ Independent file photo

Terms of the sale are unknown but according to souces directly connected to the hog industry plans call for the former beef processing plant to be converted into a culled sow processing facility. Culled sows are older female animals and may experience lower productivity due to their age.

The expected announcement and move to process culled sows “is welcome news for pig farmers…we now have a place to sell old sows” a producer source said who asked to remain anonymous.

Additionally the proposed culled sow operation is looking for funds and incentives from the provincial and federal governments for the conversion.

The former XL Beef plant owned by the Nillson Brothers closed its doors temporarily in April 2009. The reason given was the lack of cows to process.

After a 40 week lockout, workers, who were members of the United Food And Commercial Workers and had picketted the plant were told by the Nilsson Brothers the plant was permanently closed.

The announcement of the plant's permanent closure was on August 13th, 2010 and has not operated commercially processing beef since that date.

It is unknown when the official announcement will be released.

Note: the author of this story is a family member of a farming family who produced thousands of hogs annually in the heyday of the industry and remains in touch with the industry.