The domino effect of the coronavirus outbreak is becoming well-apparent in the agriculture industry as markets are shattered and production is disrupted. Impacts to the meat processing sector are trickling their way down all the way to the cow-calf production level.
Worries of meat shortages are justified, with slaughter capacity at new lows every week, and the backlog of fed cattle growing.
In an attempt to keep the meat supply chain up and running, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) April 28 under the Defense Production Act to keep meat and poultry processors operating.
“Closure of meat and poultry processing plants can quickly have an outsized impact on our nation’s food supply chain,” read a White House fact sheet about the EO.
The sheet noted the closure of a single plant can eliminate more than 80 percent of the supply of a particular meat product, such as ground beef, to an entire grocery store chain, and the loss of over 10 million servings of beef in a single day.
The order will also effectively end any litigation regarding employee safety as a result of the pandemic. This includes a lawsuit brought upon Smithfield Foods by the Rural Community Workers Alliance and an anonymous employee, who alleged the company failed to provide adequate protective gear for employees at the Milan, MO, processing plant.
In response to Trump’s order, U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom said, “The EO comes as welcome news not only to consumers, but also to U.S. livestock producers, who have endured severe economic hardship as a result of this pandemic.”
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) also applauded the decision. “While there are currently no widespread shortages of beef, we are seeing supply chain disruptions because of plant closures and reductions in the processing speed at many, if not most, beef processing plants in the U.S.,” said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall. “We thank President Trump for his recognition of the problem and the action he has taken today to begin correcting it.”
The EO came just days after Tyson Foods, the U.S.’s biggest meat processor, ran full-page ads in national newspapers declaring, “The food supply chain is breaking.”
Tyson Foods Board Chairman John Tyson wrote, “There will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed.”
The ad also said Tyson will waive the waiting period for short-term disability to allow workers who get sick to immediately be paid, as well as cover the fees for coronavirus testing.
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration have put together guidance for plants to implement to ensure employee safety to reopen plants.
Beef plant updates
As of April 30, a total of three beef plants were closed. The Tyson plant in Wallula, WA, is indefinitely closed as of April 23 to test all employees. The plant can process around 2,300 head per day. The JBS plant in Green Bay, WI, is also indefinitely closed as of April 26. The facility processes around 900 head per day. The Tyson plant in Dakota City, NE, planned to close over the first weekend of May for deep cleaning. The plant can process from 6,000 to 7,000 head per day.
A total of seven plants have reopened after temporarily closing their doors. Another three operations, two in Nebraska and one in Colorado, are currently under watch after employees tested positive for coronavirus. JBS in Grand Island, NE, WR Reserve in Lincoln, NE, and Cargill in Fort Morgan, CO, have reported cases breaking out in their workers.
Pork plant updates
The pork industry has closed more of its plants, with 12 facilities shut down as of April 30. Most of the operations have not yet issued a reopening date.
JBS has announced it will be reopening a Minnesota pork plant in order to euthanize up to 13,000 pigs a day for farmers, not to produce meat for consumers. Hog carcasses will be rendered, sent to landfills, composted, or buried, according to the company.
“Recent U.S. pork plant closures and reduced production levels at pork processing facilities across the country have left American producers with few options,” the company said in a statement. “Humane depopulation and proper disposal is the unfortunate last resort for some producers.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said closed plants need to reopen in order to feed the country, and the only way to do that is to guarantee worker safety. “No executive order is going to get those hogs processed if the people who know how to do it are sick or do not feel like they can be there,” he said on a webcast.
USDA has announced it will be establishing a coordination center to assist producers affected by meat processing plant closures. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is establishing a National Incident Coordination Center to provide direct support to producers who cannot move their animals to market.
APHIS’s Coordination Center, state veterinarians, and other state officials will be assisting to help identify potential alternative markets, and if necessary, advise and assist on depopulation and disposal methods, the agency said.
APHIS will also mobilize assets of the national veterinary stockpile as needed, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will be providing technical assistance to producers and provide cost share assistance under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. — Anna Miller, WLJ editor
