Regional and plant-size impacts of COVID-19 on beef processing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. consumers witnessed changes in the volume and type of meat products available at retail and food service markets. Simultaneously, widening farm-to-wholesale price spreads fueled calls for industry change and several related policy proposals. The objective of this study is to document fed cattle slaughter and evaluate the structure and performance of the beef processing industry during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. For major beef-producing regions, the 2019-2020 change in federally inspected U.S. cattle slaughter volumes varied in isolated instances with regional reliance on larger processing facilities. Implications of this are discussed both for current policy and industry discussions, as well as to encourage additional future research.

Innovative strategies for managing swine welfare during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iowa.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization and its impact on animal agriculture in the United States was undeniable. By April, COVID-19 resulted in the simultaneous closure or reduced operations of many meat processing plants in the upper Midwest, leading to supply chain disruptions. In Iowa, the leading pork production and processing state, these disruptions caused producer uncertainty, confusion, and stress, including time-sensitive challenges for maintaining animal care. The Iowa Resource Coordination Center (IRCC) was quickly created and launched by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS). The IRCC included public representation from the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA), Iowa Pork Industry Center (IPIC), and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, and private partners including producers, veterinarians, and technical specialists. Supporting swine welfare, the IRCC provided information on management strategies, dietary alterations to slow pig growth, alternative markets, on-farm euthanasia, and mass depopulation under veterinary oversight. In a crisis, Iowa created a model that reacted to producers' pragmatic, mental and emotional needs. This model could be quickly replicated with an introduction of foreign animal disease.

Beef and Pork Marketing Margins and Price Spreads during COVID-19.

COVID-19-related disruptions led to a historic rise in the spread between livestock and wholesale meat prices. Concerns about concentration and allegations of anticompetitive behavior have led to several inquiries and civil suits by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Justice, with increases in price differentials serving as a focal point. This article notes the difference between price spreads and marketing margins, outlines corresponding economic theory, and describes the empirical evidence on wholesale meat and livestock price dynamics in the wake of COVID-19 disruptions. At one point during the pandemic, beef and pork packers were both operating at about 60% of the previous year's processing volume. We explore how such a massive supply shock would be expected to affect marketing margins even in the absence of anticompetitive behavior. Moreover, we document how margin measurements are critically sensitive to the selection of data and information utilized. Finally, we conclude with some discussion around policy proposals that would pit industry concentration against industry coordination and economies of scale.

A descriptive analysis of the COVID-19 impacts on U.S. pork, turkey, and egg markets.

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) severely disrupted the U.S. food supply chain. In its initial aftermath, and as we contemplate a potential reignition, the food supply chain industries, researchers, and policy makers search for evidence, causes, and consequences. This article uses publicly available data on the pork and egg industries and a survey of the turkey industry as a first step to document the impact of COVID-19. Researchers can learn from the experiences in industries where disruptions evolve differently in the face of simultaneous supply- and demand-side shocks and that stem from differences in structures of the supply chains. This early evidence is used to motivate future research needs and highlight opportunities for industry investments in resiliency strategies.