Source: Beef Farmers of Ontario
Today, Premier Ford announced that all non-essential businesses will be shut down by Tuesday, March 24th at 11:59pm to decrease the spread of COVID-19. A list of the businesses which constitute essential and non-essential services and stores will be released Tuesday (March 24). A link to official announcement can be found here.
the wake of the announcement BFO was in immediate contact with the Province and the
Minister’s Office to confirm that the beef supply chain, and all of the various businesses
involved in making cattle and meat move continue to be deemed as an essential service. While the list is not yet final, the Premier stated today that any business involved in keeping food on our shelves is critically important.
While we are confident that the beef supply chain will be protected, we submitted the
following list of essential businesses to the province late this afternoon:
Essential Services to the Ontario Beef Sector:
– Livestock auction markets and assembly yards
– Veterinarian offices and veterinarian services
– Abattoirs, free-standing meat plants, further processors, cold storage facilities, and
case-ready facilities
o Chemical/cleaning and janitorial
o Uniform companies/dry cleaning services
o Product ingredient suppliers
o Packaging, labelling, and equipment suppliers
o Trade service providers such as electricians, plumbers, HVAC and other related
repair services
o Waste collection
– Livestock and meat trucking and logistics
– Feed mills, feed distributors and suppliers
– Ethanol production facilities
– Livestock nutrition/pharmaceutical suppliers and distributors
– Livestock rest station facilities
– Meat inspection services
– Dead stock pickup and disposal, and rendering facilities
– Livestock market reporting and industry support staff
– Livestock supply coordination and logistics
– Export certification and inspection
– Artificial insemination services
– Farm equipment service and repair, and other trade service providers
– Animal health lab, lab services and diagnostics
– Water suppliers and distributors
BFO will be sure to provide an update when more information can be shared.
