Meatpacking plant closures come at a vulnerable time for livestock farmers - Entrepreneur Generations

The spread of the coronavirus in rural America threatens not only rural populations, but the nation's agricultural and manufacturing sectors, Michael Warren reports for CNN. Smithfield Foods and other major meatpacking companies (Tyson, Cargill, and JBS USA) have all shut down plants because workers tested positive for the virus that causes covid-19.

Farmers and ranchers have been scrambling to shift supply chains after restaurants shut down. Meatpacking plant closures have left many with animals they can't sell at a profit anymore. "Kenny Burdine, a University of Kentucky agricultural economist who specializes in cattle markets, said that because of the uncertainty and the slowdown in production, prices have dropped 15 to 20 percent from January, depending on the age of the cattle," Janet Patton reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader in Kentucky. Hog farmers are in a similar situation.

The supply chain disruption is all the worse because the pandemic is hitting right when farmers usually sell cattle and use the money to buy seeds and fertilizer for summer crops. That could have long-term repercussions for farm income and the nation's food supply, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles told Patton. However, Quarles said that, though the processing plant closures are a "legitimate concern," he believes it would take more to seriously disrupt the nation's food supply chain.

Some food packaging companies have temporarily shuttered because of sick workers, such as Flowers Foods Inc., which recently closed a baked good plant in rural Tucker, Georgia after some of its 225 workers got sick with covid-19, Jesse Newman and Annie Gasparro report for The Wall Street Journal.

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/2xN3SPS Meatpacking plant closures come at a vulnerable time for livestock farmers - Entrepreneur Generations

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