Trump to Order U.S. Meat Plants to Stay Open Amid Pandemic-14,259 workers infected-59 dead-22 plants closed

[Treyfish]

Top Pork Producer Warns of Meat Shortfall as It Shuts Key Plant

By
Isis Almeida
and
Matt Day Updated on April 12, 2020, 1:36 PM EDT

• Smithfield closes South Dakota pork facility after virus cases
• ‘Impossible’ to keep grocers stocked if plants are shut: CEO

The world’s biggest pork producer is shuttering a major U.S. plant indefinitely after a coronavirus outbreak among employees, with the company warning that closures across the country are taking American meat supplies “perilously close to the edge” of shortfalls.

Smithfield Foods Inc. will idle its Sioux Falls, South Dakota, pork-processing facility, which accounts for 4% to 5% of U.S. production, the company said in a statement Sunday. The move comes after state officials reported more than 200 cases of Covid-19 for plant employees, adding to a spike in infections that’s seen hundreds of American meat workers get sick. Plants have been forced to shutter or reduce output.

“The closure of this facility, combined with a growing list of other protein plants that have shuttered across our industry, is pushing our country perilously close to the edge in terms of our meat supply,” Smithfield’s Chief Executive Officer Ken Sullivan said in the statement. “It is impossible to keep our grocery stores stocked if our plants are not running.”

While it’s unclear whether the meat-employee infections have anything to do with the workplaces, the news exposes the vulnerability of global supply chains that are needed to keep grocers stocked after panic buying left shelves empty. The shuttered plants and sick workers are adding to other disruptions caused by the virus that’s making it harder for food to get from farm to table. Trucking bottlenecks, and snarled port traffic have also contributed to why shoppers are seeing empty shelves.

.....

....“Unfortunately, Covid-19 cases are now ubiquitous across our country. The virus is afflicting communities everywhere. The agriculture and food sectors have not been immune,” Sullivan said. “We have continued to run our facilities for one reason: to sustain our nation’s food supply during this pandemic.”

Workers in other points of the food-supply chain have also started to get sick. In all likelihood, the number of cases will keep going up at meat plants, farms, warehouses and packaging factories across the globe. That’s pointing to an acute contradiction between the need to keep people safe, while also ensuring that the world has enough food.

....

Still, there is a risk to continued production. When a worker gets sick, the employee and every person they’ve come into contact with has to be quarantined. Plants also needs to close for deep cleanings. A Cargill Inc. plant in Pennsylvania has also been closed temporarily because of an outbreak among employees.

Hundreds of U.S. Meat Workers Have Now Tested Positive for Virus

Some companies also had to slow down plants that are set up to supply restaurants, instead of supermarkets. Sanderson Farms Inc., the U.S.’s third-largest chicken processor, said earlier this month that it would run plants that process big birds for the food-services industry “well below capacity,” according to CEO Joe Sanderson.

....

If more cases mount and an increasing number of plants are forced to idle, it’s difficult to say what the tipping point will be in terms of supply shortfalls.

“We have a stark choice as a nation: we are either going to produce food or not, even in the face of Covid-19,” Sullivan said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...virus-concerns

[Treyfish]

Coronavirus Concerns Rise as Ohio Valley Meatpacking Workers Fall Sick


By: Liam Niemeyer | Ohio Valley ReSource
Posted on: Friday, April 10, 2020

HINTON, W.Va. (OVR) — As the number of coronavirus cases surge across the country, some meatpacking facilities have been temporarily shuttered due to workers falling ill to the virus. Three workers in Georgia have even died.

With workers at some Ohio Valley facilities now testing positive for the virus, worker safety advocates are raising concerns about how adequately workers are being protected and the implications for the food supply.

West Virginia’s poultry and livestock industries bring in the large majority of the state’s agricultural revenue, with poultry and eggs bringing in approximately $387,884,000 in 2017. Most of that production happens in the state’s eastern panhandle in places including Pendleton County, where Steve Conrad raises turkeys for a regional cooperative.

He said a worker tested positive for the coronavirus last week at the cooperative’s poultry processing facility across the state border in Hinton, Virginia. While Conrad believes the situation at the facility is under control, the potential for spread of the virus at such processing facilities could be substantial.

“I would think it would spread like wildfire, to tell you the truth, if it’s as infectious as what they say it is,” Conrad said. “The people are standing probably within three feet of each other as either they’re taking the meat off the bones or taking the feathers off the carcass, and pulling the guts out.”

He said the cooperative has taken measures such as removing microwaves used by workers at the facility’s cafeteria, using masks in the facility, and monito..... https://woub.org/2020/04/10/coronavi...ers-fall-sick/

[bertrand789]

?tats-Unis: le prix du porc baisse

? la suite de Covid-19, les prix des porcs aux ?tats-Unis ont chut? d'environ 27% en un peu plus d'une semaine. Vendredi dernier, le prix moyen du porc USDA ?tait de 42,88 $ / quintal (environ 0,874 kg de poids ? l'abattage). Une semaine auparavant, le prix ?tait de 58,89 $ / quintal (environ 1,20 € / kg). En cons?quence, les grands transformateurs comme Tyson Foods ont vu leurs revenus chuter de 35 ? 40%.
https://www.pigprogress.net/World-of...id-19-567404E/

il faut toujours regarder le contexte ...

[Treyfish]

translation of above
Pork prices drop in the United States

Following Covid-19, hog prices in the United States fell about 27% in just over a week. As of Friday, the average price for USDA pork was $ 42.88 / cwt (approximately 0.874 kg slaughter weight). A week earlier, the price was $ 58.89 / hundredweight (approximately € 1.20 / kg). As a result, large processors like Tyson Foods saw their revenues drop by 35 to 40%.

https://www.pigprogress.net/World-of...id-19-567404E/

always look at the context ...

[Treyfish]

Apr 8, 2020
Global pigmeat market upside down due to Covid-19


Nowhere in the pig industry the coronavirus (Covid-19) appears to hit harder than in the processing and food supply side of the business. Worldwide Covid-19 is having an impact on pig and pork prices, leading to uncertainty.
It also caused the Dutch-based processor to temporarily ‘freeze’ its Pig Index Guarantee (PIG) system as from yesterday. The system allows participating pork producers to receive a bonus in case the prices Vion pays do not match those paid abroad. Once the market situation goes back to normal, the PIG system will be resumed.

USA: pig prices going downhill


As a result of Covid-19, US pig prices dropped by roughly 27% in just over a week’s time. Last Friday, the USDA average pig price stood at $ 42.88/hundredweight (about € 0.874 kg slaughter weight). One week prior, the price was at $ 58.89/hundredweight (about € 1.20/kg). As a consequence, large processors like Tyson Foods saw their revenues drop by 35-40%.

This is partly caused by sudden Covid-19-related unemployment in the US market, causing quite a number of consumers making more conscious decisions as to what to buy.
..What impact is the pandemic having on the global pig sector and how are they dealing with it.

China: pork imports continue despite Covid-19


In China, business grew despite Covid-19. Total pork imports have grown strongly over the last few months, Germany’s Top Agrar reported. In January and February, pork imports doubled to reach 720,000 tonnes in total.

It does not mean that Covid-19 has had no impact on the market at all, as some importers are facing bankruptcy, Boerderij wrote. As domestic sales dropped during Covid-19 and because some imported pork shipments could not be pushed to the market immediately, their cash flow minimalised...https://www.pigprogress.net/World-of...id-19-567404E/

[Treyfish]

FOOD SHORTAGES?

BY ERIK LOOMIS
ON APRIL 12, 2020
AT 4:25 PM
With the collapse of the entire world economy overnight, exports have plummeted, which means that at least for now, there is lots of meat in the United States. But that is not necessarily stable, especially as COVID-19 rips through meatpacking plants. Conditions for meatpackers are horrible at the best of the times, with The Jungle replicated in Kansas and Iowa with undocumented Central Americans instead of in Chicago with Lithuanians and Poles. These workers are forced to work very close together in often cold conditions with sharp knives and fast-moving machines. Working together in cold conditions is perfect for the spread of the coronavirus. And we are now seeing meatpacking plants start to close as their workers get sick... https://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com...food-shortages

[Treyfish]

APRIL 13, 2020 / 7:13 AM
'Elbow to elbow:' North America meat plant workers fall ill, walk off jobs


CHICAGO/WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the new coronavirus, according to a meat inspector.

In Colorado, nearly a third of the workers at a JBS USA beef plant stayed home amid safety concerns for the last two weeks as a 30-year employee of the facility died following complications from the virus.

And since an Olymel pork plant in Quebec shut on March 29, the number of workers who tested positive for the coronavirus quintupled to more than 50, according to their union. The facility and at least 10 others in North America have temporarily closed or reduced production in about the last two weeks because of the pandemic, disrupting food supply chains that have struggled to keep pace with surging demand at grocery stores.

According to more than a dozen interviews with U.S and Canadian plant workers, union leaders and industry analysts, a lack of protective equipment and the nature of “elbow to elbow” work required to debone chickens, chop beef and slice hams are highlighting risks for employees and limiting output as some forego the low-paying work. Companies that added protections, such as enhanced cleaning or spacing out workers, say the moves are further slowing meat production.

Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, on Sunday said it is shutting a pork plant indefinitely and warned that plant shutdowns are pushing the United States “perilously close to the edge” in meat supplies for grocers.

Lockdowns that aim to stop the spread of the coronavirus have prevented farmers across the globe from delivering produce to consumers. Millions of laborers also cannot get to the fields for harvesting and planting, and there are too few truckers to keep goods moving.

The United States and Canada are among the world’s biggest shippers of beef and pork. Food production has continued as governments try to ensure adequate supplies, even as they close broad swathes of the economy.

The closures and increased absenteeism among workers have contributed to drops in the price of livestock, as farmers find fewer places for slaughter. Since March 25, nearby lean hog futures LHc1 have plunged 35%, and live cattle prices LCc1 shed 15%, straining the U.S. farm economy.

North American meat demand has dropped some 30% in the past month as declining sales of restaurant meats like steaks and chicken wings outweighed a spike in retail demand for ground beef, said Christine McCracken, Rabobank’s animal protein analyst.

Frozen meats in U.S. cold storage facilities remain plentiful, but supply could be whittled down as exports to protein-hungry China increase after a trade agreement removed obstacles for American meat purchases.

“There’s a huge risk of additional plant closures,” McCracken said... https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-he...-idUKKCN21V0WM

[Treyfish]

Here are some facilities that have shut or reduced production: 11 plants

* JBS USA [JBS.UL] shut a beef plant in Souderton, Pennsylvania, until April 16, after previously cutting production.

* JBS reduced production a beef plant in Greeley, Colorado, due to high absences among workers, according to the local United Food and Commercial Workers union. The company said high absenteeism led slaughter rates to outpace the process of cutting carcasses into pieces.

* National Beef Packing Co [NBEEF.UL] suspended cattle slaughtering at a beef plant in Tama, Iowa, for a cleaning and planned to resume on April 13.

* Aurora Packing Company closed a beef plant in Aurora, Illinois, said Brad Lyle, chief financial officer for U.S. commodity firm Kerns and Associates. A security officer at the plant said it was closed due to the pandemic. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

* Harmony Beef in Alberta, C.... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-h...1V09W?rpc=401&

[Treyfish]

Notre Dame expert: South Dakota pork plant closure will reduce nation’s meat supply, impact entire supply chain
13-Apr-2020 5:05 PM EDT
, by University of Notre Dame
...."Just as we have seen the effects of coronavirus within other industries, these plant closures will disrupt the entire pork supply chain—from the livestock farmers to the consumers who purchase pork products,” Foster said....

“Meat products are perishable and because they require cold storage, there's also limited storage capacity,” Foster explained, “making it difficult to carry a large amount of inventory. Once the existing inventory is used up, consumers can expect to see smaller quantities of pork products in stores due to processing plant closures.

“In this case, the inputs into the process are also perishable, and farmers will be left with livestock that they won't be able to move down the supply chain,” she noted. “With production halted, every tier of the supply chain will be impacted." https://www.newswise.com/coronavirus...icle_id=729847

[Treyfish]

Union says 38 confirmed COVID-19 cases at Cargill meat plant cause for closure

Social Sharing

Minnesota-based company says it's doing what it can to keep workers safe

David Bell ? CBC News ? Posted: Apr 13,
Last Updated: 31 minutes ago
The union representing some workers at the Cargill meat packing plant in High River, Alta., is calling for the facility to be closed for two weeks on fears of COVID-19.
The union representing some workers at a meat packing plant south of Calgary says there are dozens of confirmed COVID-19 cases at the facility and it should be closed for at least two weeks to come up with a plan.

The Cargill plant in High River — about 60 kilometres south of Calgary — has roughly 2,000 workers, and the union said it could be hit hard by the illness, given provincial projections on how the virus spreads.

Last week, Premier Jason Kenney said provincial modelling showed that about one in six Albertans could contract the novel coronavirus. The union noted that one in six of the plant's 2,000 staff equals 333 people.

The union says currently there are 38 confirmed cases at the plant: five salaried employees, four contractors and 29 workers...https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...530836?cmp=rss

[Treyfish]

47m ago
U.S. Backs Contentious Meat-Plant Changes With Supply at Risk

Deena Shanker and Lydia Mulvany, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- As American meat producers are forced to shutter and slow output at plants amid coronavirus outbreaks, the U.S. government is giving companies a green light to run some facilities at higher speeds -- something experts and labor advocates have long said is dangerous for workers.

In April, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service allowed five poultry plants -- two owned by Tyson Foods Inc., and three by Wayne Farms LLC -- to run their slaughter lines at higher speeds. The agency also gave approval to Foster Farms in March.

“This decision is endangering blue collar essential workers at a time when we need to think about protecting them and their communities,” said Debbie Berkowitz, director of the Worker Safety and Health program at the National Employment Law Project.

The coronavirus pandemic is now spreading from urban cities into rural areas where much of America’s food production takes place. Just in the past week or so, hundreds of poultry, beef and pork workers have tested positive for the virus, leading the likes of Cargill Inc. and Smithfield Foods Inc. to shutter plants. Two people employed at a Tyson Foods plant in Georgia died from complications due to the virus, according to union officials.

Slaughterhouse Shutdowns Raise Concern for Farmers and Consumers

The outbreak is highlighting the often dangerous role that workers play to provide the world with plentiful, affordable food.

“We’re working hard to protect ou....
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/u-s-back...risk-1.1420983

[bertrand789]

Donc, il faut retenir que ce sujet est un vrai sujet qui doit ?tre vu tr?s s?rieusement.

Sauf que, quand ce secteur, celui du porc, d?cide d'agir, le bricolage n'a pas lieu d'?tre.

Il faut du gel hydroalcoolique: on sait et va faire en citerne
il faut des tests en tr?s grande quantit? : idem
https://www.pigprogress.net/World-of...id-19-568743E/
etc

Enfin, et cela me semble le plus important, ce sont des personnes en comp?tition qui se parlent. Donc, ceux qui veulent leur raconter des "carabistouilles"
https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/carabistouille ou mieux de ?neries

https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/%C3%A2nerie

La confiance que les hommes du XVIII^e si?cle avaient dans les capacit?s industrielles de l'?tat, para?t pu?rile ? toutes les personnes qui ont ?tudi? la production ailleurs que dans les insipides bouquins des sociologues; ceux-ci conservent encore fort soigneusement le culte des ?neries du temps pass?;

ils ne peuvent venir qu'une fois ...

C'est un monde discret. Pour l'entrevoir, dans le monde, il faut de regarder ceci : https://www.pigprogress.net/World-of...s/Farm-visits/

Celle l? en surprend plus d'un :

https://www.pigprogress.net/World-of...loors-275164E/

[Treyfish]

western pennsylvania

Six employees at Smithfield Foods Arnold plant test positive for coronavirus


MICHAEL DIVITTORIO | Monday, April 13, 2020 10:13 p.m.

8 minutes ago

Six employees at the Smithfield Foods plant in Arnold tested positive for coronavirus.

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1776 President Wendell Young said four people reported positive tests last week, and two more tested positive as of Monday.

He said those individuals have not been to work for at least several days. UFCW represents 107 workers at the plant.

The plant implemented multiple safety measures to combat the coronavirus prior to the employees testing positive, including rigorous cleaning throughout the day and overnight.

“We have more kno
https://triblive.com/local/valley-ne...r-coronavirus/

[Treyfish]

Former agriculture secretary issues stark warning that a 'cascading series of events' is disrupting the US food chain amid coronavirus pandemic as meat producers plan to cut jobs and products
13:01 EDT, 14 April 2020

• Former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on Monday warned of escalating food supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic
• At least 11 meat processing plants have closed due to COVID-19 outbreaks
• Major meat companies are now laying contingency plans to avoid outbreaks
• Chicken processor Sanderson Farms is considering drastically streamlining its meatpacking methods so fewer workers are required on each shift
• Thousands of food industry workers have already become infected while others put themselves at high risk by going into work each day
• Immediate demand took a hit as major consumer sources such as restaurants and schools that were shuttered under stay-at-home orders.. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ary-warns.html

[Treyfish]

North American meat plants struggling to maintain workforce amid COVID-19 pandemic


According to more than a dozen interviews with US and Canadian plant workers, union leaders and industry analysts, a lack of protective equipment and the nature of "elbow to elbow" work required in meat processing is highlighting risks for employees and limiting output.
14 April 2020, at 11:27am

At a Wayne Farms chicken processing plant in Alabama, workers recently had to pay the company 10 cents a day to buy masks to protect themselves from the new coronavirus, according to a meat inspector.

In Colorado, nearly a third of the workers at a JBS USA beef plant stayed home amid safety concerns for the last two weeks as a 30-year employee of the facility died following complications from the virus.

And since an Olymel pork plant in Quebec shut on 29 March, the number of workers who tested positive for the coronavirus quintupled to more than 50, according to their union. The facility and at least 10 others in North America have temporarily closed or reduced production in about the last two weeks because of the pandemic, disrupting food supply chains that have struggled to keep pace with surging demand at grocery stores, Reuters reports.

According to more than a dozen interviews with US and Canadian plant workers, union leaders and industry analysts, a lack of protective equipment and the nature of "elbow to elbow" work required to de-bone chickens, chop beef and slice hams are highlighting risks for employees and limiting output as some forego the low-paying work. Companies that added protections, such as enhanced cleaning or spacing out workers, say the moves are further slowing meat production.... https://thepigsite.com/news/2020/04/...id-19-pandemic