May 6, 2020

Tyson shutters another pork packing plant in Nebraska

Tyson Foods announced Monday that it is suspending operations at its pork processing plant in Madison, Nebraska, reported Farm Journal's PORK.

The northeast Nebraska plant was running at a reduced capacity on Friday and Saturday while testing its workforce for COVID-19.

"The health and safety of our team members is our top priority, and we take this responsibility extremely seriously," said a Tyson company spokesperson.

The plant is working with a third-party medical contractor to test all team members at the Madison plant. The spokesperson says the plant will not reopen until test results are available.

In the meantime, staff are performing a deep clean and sanitisation of the facility during its closure. The plant will be working with the Nebraska National Guard, and state and county health officials to make sure the plant meets or exceeds state and national guidelines, the spokesperson said.

According to Norfolk Daily News, the Elkhorn Logan Valley Health Department said Tyson has 96 confirmed cases. More test results are expected this week.

The Madison pork plant harvests 8,000 pigs a day and produces 10.6 million pounds of pork every week. The plant covers employs about 1,200 people.

On Friday, Tyson announced plans to resume limited production at its Logansport, Indiana, facility this week, following a plant tour with local health and government officials, a union representative, and medical professionals.