Cattlemen Support PG Packing Plant
PRINCE GEORGE — Local cattlemen are in support of a beef processing plant in BC, something that has been talked about for years. But, most recently, the provincial government committed up to $450,000 to look at the idea again.
“We have the livestock in BC to support a packing plant of a major size. Do we have the feedlots here that are feeding those cattle at this point in time? No, we don’t,” says Tom de Waal, a local producer and member of the BC Cattlemen’s Association. “And that’s strictly because of the fact that we don’t have a facility to slaughter these cattle.”
He says, in fact, there are as many as 70,000 head of cattle just to the west, not taking into consideration the Peace Country or the Cariboo-Chilcotin regions. Prince George also has a centralized location and access to transportation routes, things de Waal says are critical.
All cattle from BC are currently slaughtered in Washington State or Alberta.