Resilience of U.S. cattle and beef sectors: lessons from COVID-19. (Special Issue: COVID-19 impacts on selected commodities.)

The upheaval wrought on the U.S. beef industry by the global COVID-19 pandemic carried with it several lessons that might help improve resiliency should there be a reoccurrence. First, the futures market for fed cattle fell well before cash prices, which sent a signal to market cattle early, and those who did so benefited. Second, the decline in futures anticipated the closure of slaughter plants and provided an opportunity to purchase and store beef primals in anticipation of future scarcity. Third, the beef industry has ways of slowing or stopping the pipeline of animals destined for feed yards and can "store" these animals in background feeding facilities or on pasture or rangeland. Producers who waited to sell feeder cattle benefited from higher feeder cattle prices once the processing facilities reopened. Fourth, cow slaughter plants responded to the pandemic and subsequent scarcity of labor much better than large fed-cattle plants. Cow plants are not as sophisticated and complex as fed-cattle plants. This relative simplicity may help explain the superior performance of these plants during the crisis. Sixth, the academic work on the value of building smaller plants as a response against concentration provides mixed results-these plants require more labor per animal and can be even more susceptible to labor scarcity. Seventh, the observed increase in boxed beef prices, even as fed cattle prices fell, demonstrates the risk-mitigating impact of producer ownership of downstream activities in the value chain.

Resilience of U.S. Cattle and Beef Sectors: Lessons from COVID-19

The upheaval wrought on the U.S. beef industry by the global COVID-19 pandemic carried with it several lessons that might help improve resiliency should there be a reoccurrence. First, the futures market for fed cattle fell well before cash prices, which sent a signal to market cattle early, and those who did so benefited. Second, the decline in futures anticipated the closure of slaughter plants and provided an opportunity to purchase and store beef primals in anticipation of future scarcity. Third, the beef industry has ways of slowing or stopping the pipeline of animals destined for feed yards and can "store"these animals in background feeding facilities or on pasture or rangeland. Producers who waited to sell feeder cattle benefited from higher feeder cattle prices once the processing facilities reopened. Fourth, cow slaughter plants responded to the pandemic and subsequent scarcity of labor much better than large fed-cattle plants. Cow plants are not as sophisticated and complex as fed-cattle plants. This relative simplicity may help explain the superior performance of these plants during the crisis. Sixth, the academic work on the value of building smaller plants as a response against concentration provides mixed results - these plants require more labor per animal and can be even more susceptible to labor scarcity. Seventh, the observed increase in boxed beef prices, even as fed cattle prices fell, demonstrates the risk-mitigating impact of producer ownership of downstream activities in the value chain. © 2022 the author(s), published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston 2022.

Bladder HOTline: The Impact of COVID-19 and Telemedicine on Empiric Urinary Tract Infection Treatment in Women

INTRODUCTION: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is responsible for 15% of all community-prescribed antibiotics. The effects of the pandemic on UTI treatment are largely unknown. We evaluated the impact of COVID-19 and telemedicine on empiric UTI treatment in women, hypothesizing that increased telemedicine during the pandemic would increase empiric UTI treatment. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of treatment patterns of female patients aged 18-65 using ICD-10 codes for acute cystitis with and without hematuria during the first 6 months of the pandemic versus the preceding 6 months. Our primary outcome was empiric antibiotic treatment, defined by treatment based on clinical picture with/without pending urine testing. To reach 80% power, we included 222 patients. RESULTS: The average age of participants was 42. Fifty-two percent were White, 23% Black, and 23% Hispanic. No demographic differences existed between cohorts. During the pandemic, 36.6% of UTI encounters were conducted via telemedicine, compared to 1.5% pre-pandemic (P<.0001). The rate of empiric treatment increased from 58.2% pre-pandemic to 70.5% pandemic (P=.055). The rate of treatment based on clinical picture with no pending urine testing was significantly higher during the pandemic (P<.0001). Nitrofurantoin or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole was used in 79% of patients prescribed an antibiotic. The treatment adjustment rate was 17.1%. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 dramatically increased telemedicine utilization by women with UTI symptoms. Empiric treatment approached significance and confirmatory urine testing was done significantly less during the pandemic. Given the importance of antibiotic stewardship, it is important to further characterize telemedicine's impact on treatment of this common condition.

Research update: optimizing the use of American rescue funds in pork and beef

The American Rescue Funds Program seeks improvements to infrastructure, capacity, and diversification in meat and poultry processing, with clear prioritization of increased competition via small- and medium-sized processing facilities. The need to euthanize animals at a time when retailers were rationing meat sales was one of several examples of market failures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the disruptions to agricultural meat, poultry, and egg production at $15 billion based on CFAP and CFAP2 payments. Marani et al. (2021) estimate the probability of a repeat event at 1% to 2% per year, justifying the use of these public funds to add surplus capacity and infrastructure to mitigate disruptions in case of recurrence. Economics of scale are modest beyond slaughter of more than 125 head per hour in beef plants and 2,000 head per day in pork plants (Duewer and Nelson, 1991;Ollinger, MacDonald, and Madison, 2005). Dozens of such "medium-sized" U.S. pork and beef processing plants have survived since 2000, typically relying upon niche market connections. Given historic processing plant construction costs for medium-sized plants (Aherin, 333333 2021) and an assumed 20% USDA grant to incentivize construction, a $100 million expenditure on each of the beef and pork plants creates an opportunity to add as much as 5% additional capacity for each species, easing current capacity as the industries prepare for local and export growth. Whether producer-ownership of capacity can generate stability and additional benefits in the supply chains is of key interest. Models of producer ownership-including cooperatives and carefully structured LLCs-allow livestock producers to capture processing margins and remove some of the price uncertainty around live animal prices to the plant and producer. It follows, too, that producer-ownership can therefore reduce the ability of existing larger plants to poach supply from medium-sized plants during the crucial startup phase and ensure that plants run at optimum capacity. A significant portion of the additional capacity added to the pork industry in the last 15 years exhibited some form of producer ownership. Anecdotally, the pork and beef sectors may be moving away from commodity production and into systems that maintain animal identity from farm to consumer. Producers have an opportunity to capitalize on this shift by collectively investing in medium-sized plants with the ability to preserve identity and be more responsive to evolving consumer preferences. An overarching concern is of the need to maintain capacity into the future and the potential of existing packers to acquire this subsidized capacity should medium sized processing fail.

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 AND TELEMEDICINE ON EMPIRIC UTI TREATMENT IN WOMEN

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Urinary tract infection (UTI), one of the most common reasons women seek acute care, is responsible for 15% of all community-prescribed antibiotics. The effects of the pandemic and telemedicine on UTI treatment are largely unknown. Here, we evaluated the impact of Covid-19 and telemedicine on empiric UTI treatment in women. We hypothesized that increased use of telemedicine during the pandemic would increase the rate of empiric UTI treatment. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of treatment patterns of female patients aged 18-65 using ICD-10 codes for acute cystitis with (N30.00) and without (N30.01) hematuria during the first 6 months of the pandemic (March 2020 - August 2020) versus the 6 months preceding the pandemic (September 2019 - February 2020). Our primary outcome was presence of empiric antibiotic treatment, defined by treatment based on clinical picture with or without pending urine testing. Secondary analysis included determining which antibiotics were most commonly prescribed and treatment adjustment. To reach 80% power to detect a 10% difference with p≤0.05, we included 222 patients. Exclusion criteria included inpatient encounter, long-term facility residence, urinary procedure in last 2 weeks, previous UTI treatment within 30 days. RESULTS: The average age of participants was 42 years. Fiftytwo percent were white, 23% Black, and 23% Hispanic. No demographic differences existed between cohorts. During the pandemic, 36.6% of UTI encounters were conducted via telemedicine, compared to 1.5% pre-pandemic (p<.0001). The rate of empiric treatment increased from 58.2% pre-pandemic to 70.5% during the pandemic (p=.055). The rate of treatment based on clinical picture with no pending urine testing was significantly higher during the pandemic (p<.0001). Nitrofurantoin or trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole was used in 79% of patients prescribed an antibiotic. The overall rate of treatment adjustment was 17.1%;there was no significant difference by time period. CONCLUSIONS: Covid-19 dramatically increased telemedicine utilization by women with UTI symptoms. Empiric treatment approached significance and confirmatory urine testing was done significantly less during the pandemic. Given the importance of antibiotic stewardship, it is important to further characterize telemedicine's impact on treatment of this common condition. (Table Presented).

Exploration of the COVID-19 Content within a Vaccine Choice Social Media Platform: A Case Study

With the continued rise in cases of COVID-19 and the increased availability of vaccines, it is essential to recognize the drivers of vaccine uptake. A large vaccine choice organization often uses social media platforms, specifically Facebook, to communicate messages to their audience. This study examined this organization’s Facebook posts between January 1, 2020 and May 1, 2020 to determine what themes and sub-themes were most often discussed regarding COVID-19. Three independent reviewers used an inductive approach with content analysis to code and analyze 35 posts relevant to COVID-19. Ten themes and eight subthemes emerged. Personal freedoms was the most prevalent theme, followed by vaccine safety and private/government involvement. Though some of the themes and sub-themes were uniquely associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, many were similar to the vaccine uptake factors identified for other vaccines. With the increasing usage of social media for information, the investigation of online forums can provide insight into the determinants which may impact COVID-19 vaccine uptake. These findings may be generalized to guide interventions to increase vaccine acceptance and distribution of other novel vaccines within the general population.

Psychosocial Health of K-12 Students Engaged in Emergency Remote Education and In-Person Schooling: A Cross-Sectional Study.

As online classes became the norm in many countries as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the concern for child and adolescent mental health became an issue of concern. This study evaluates the differences in the psychosocial status of school children based on engagement in in-person or Emergency Remote Education (ERE) and assessed the prevalence and predictors of symptom-derived risk levels for anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD). Cross-sectional data were collected from students at a Florida K-12 school and their household members through an online survey conducted in October 2020 (n = 145). No significant difference was found between ERE and in-person learning for risk of anxiety, depression, or OCD. Prevalence of students presenting as at risk for anxiety, depression, and OCD was 42.1%, 44.8%, and 41.4%. Several student factors (e.g., child sex, school level) and parental factors (e.g., parental COVID-19 attitudes) were associated with students presenting as at risk for anxiety, depression, or OCD; child's participation in sports was protective against all three outcomes. Participation in sports was found to be protective against risk of anxiety (aOR = 0.36, CI = 0.14-0.93), depression (aOR = 0.38, CI = 0.15-0.93), and OCD (aOR = 0.31, CI = 0.11-0.85).