OTTAWA—The coronavirus pandemic has forced one of Canada’s major beef processing plants to shut down, with no estimated date of reopening, as cattle producers warn they could lose $500 million over the coming weeks.

The Cargill meat processing plant in High River, Alta. temporarily closed Monday after the operation was linked to more than 350 cases of COVID-19 in the suburban community outside Calgary.

About 2,100 people work at the plant, and the company is urging them all to get tested for the novel coronavirus, Cargill’s North America lead John Nash said in a statement.

The company said it typically processes 4,500 cattle per day, which the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association says represents 36 per cent of the country’s beef production capacity. The company said there is no scheduled date for the facility to resume production, and that workers will continue getting paid according to their collective bargaining agreement.

“This was a difficult decision for our team who are operating an essential service and are committed to delivering food for local families, access to markets for ranchers, products for our customers’ shelves and jobs for local employees,” Nash said in the company’s statement Monday.

In a conference call with reporters Monday evening, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association vice-president Dennis Laycraft said the Cargill closure adds to a processing backlog that will lead to an estimated loss of $500 million for cattle farmers by the end of June.

“There are plants in eastern Canada that are pretty much at full capacity,” he said. “The reality is, in the short term, there won’t be readily available alternatives.”

In an emailed statement to the Star, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau applauded companies taking measures to protect their employees’ health and safety.

She also said Ottawa has created a “working group” to ensure a national approach on meat and poultry issues during the pandemic, and committed $20 million to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for additional staff and work hours and to share inspection resources with the provinces.

“During these unprecedented times, the meat industry is adapting to the pressures on the supply chain and ensuring prudent management, including for the welfare of people and animals,” she said.

“Canadians should be proud of the workers across the food supply chain, who are stepping up to feed them in their time of need.”

The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, which represents workers in the plant, had been calling for a shutdown to allow workers to self-isolate and for the plant to be cleaned. Thomas Hesse, the union president, told The Canadian Press that he knows of one worker who is in critical care in the hospital and “fighting for his life.”

The Cargill closure comes as the cattlemen’s association has warned of possible food supply disruptions as meat processing facilities have slowed production due to the pandemic. On Friday, Canadian Meat Council spokesperson Chris White told the Star this has occurred as some employees have contracted the novel coronavirus and processing plants have instituted safety measures like social distancing that have slowed the pace of production.

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The Canadian Federation of Agriculture has also warned labour shortages mean farmers may be forced to leave crops to rot in their fields.

Bibeau told reporters in Ottawa last week that some products may be scarcer due to the pandemic but that Canada’s food system is “resilient enough and will adapt.”