May 9, 2020

US state's pork, beef processing output faces decade low

For the past decade (2011-2020), the weekly hog slaughter was at its lowest for the week ending May 2, with cattle slaughter also facing a decade low for a non-holiday week, reported Iowa's News Now.

Iowa farmers and rural communities in the US face mounting challenges and uncertainties as disruptions to meat processing plants impacted by COVID-19 have created a bottleneck in the supply chain with major negative impacts for both farmers and consumers.

While some meat processing plants have partially reopened, the impacts to the nation's leading pork producing state amidst the supply chain disruption are significant.

Prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic, consumer demand and pork and beef production levels were at all-time highs, with Iowa farmers responsible for nearly one-third of US pork production and a top-10 beef producing state.

The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) analysis shows that from the week ending March 21 to the week ending May 2, the weekly hog slaughter decreased by more than 44% or nearly 1.3 million head.

The bottleneck in the supply chain coupled with a growing number of market ready hogs has depressed prices to the point where many pork farmers face significant losses in 2020 and beyond continuing an eight-year economic downtown for Iowa farmers.

Looking back to the week ending May 2, 2020, harvesting of cattle had decreased by 260,000 head from the week ending March 28.

Scale back in meat processing has forced some grocers, retailers and fast-food chains to restrict or limit consumers' purchases given the supply chain disruptions.

"While consumers may see short-term impacts at the grocery store when it comes to the meat selection and quantities available for purchase, it's important to note the challenges Iowa farmers face are immense and likely to extend throughout this year and into the next. The data in the study clearly underscore the need to get the supply chain moving again in a way that protects workers and provides a lifeline to farmers," Funk said.

"With each passing day, tens of thousands of animals are unable to be processed due to the bottleneck in the supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting consumers and devastating farmers. Farmers are doing a great job filling the animal protein needs of consumers in the US and around the world. The reduced capacity to process market animals is now forcing extremely difficult and heart-wrenching decisions for farmers. The public health pandemic that is COVID-19 is hurting most of the world's population—and significantly impacting farmers who are providing the food, fuel and fibre we all depend on the deepest in terms of economic costs and livelihoods. Some people are out of work. Farmers are working and investing more every day to feed their livestock and plant crops, and the market prices they face threaten their ability to continue to produce the products on which we depend."