The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)

Meatpackin­g rebounding but high prices, backlogs to persist

- By Josh Funk and Stephen Groves

OMAHA, NEB. » Meat production has rebounded from its low point during the coronaviru­s pandemic when dozens of plants were closed, but experts say consumer prices are likely to remain high and it will take months to work through a backlog of millions of pigs and cattle, creating headaches for producers.

Earlier this week, beef, pork and poultry plants were operating at more than 95% of last year’s levels, which was up from about 60% in April at the height of plant closures and slowdowns, according to the U.S. Agricultur­e Department. That increased production came as companies took steps to protect workers, such as adding plastic partitions between work stations and staggering shifts, that are essential but could slow down the work. The safety measures and bonuses to incentiviz­e workers have increased costs.

And while worker advocates stress that companies must be vigilant to avoid more coronaviru­s infections, those steps will likely mean higher prices at grocery stores. Even if plants became more efficient, there is a lag of several weeks between when wholesale prices drop and when consumers start to see the change.

Grocery stores, which absorbed some of the meat price increases this spring, also may not pass along all the price cuts as they try to restore their profit margins.

“Don’t expect prices to fall in half just because wholesale prices have declined dramatical­ly,” said Lee Schulz, a livestock economist at Iowa State University.

Besides adopting measures to keep workers healthy, Kansas State University agricultur­al economist Glynn Tonsor said meat processors have also boosted production by operating plants more on Saturdays, rather than just weekdays, and by saving time by producing larger cuts of meat. That means grocery stores or consumers may have to cut a pork loin down into pork chops instead of that work being done at meat plants, for example.

But to work through the beef and pork backlogs quickly, meat processors may have to find ways to boost production higher than last year’s levels, said Will Sawyer, a protein economist at Cobank, an agribusine­ss bank. Before the pandemic, meatpackin­g plants had been expected to produce more than they did last year.

Even as production levels climb, it will likely take all summer and maybe into the fall to work through the backlog of more than 1 million cattle and more than 2 million pigs that was created this spring when dozens of plants were closed. That will continue to create problems for farmers and ranchers who are struggling to find space for all those animals and face low prices because of the supply glut.

 ?? TYSON FOODS VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Workers wear protective masks and stand between plastic dividers at the Tyson Foods’s Camilla, Ga., poultry processing plant. Meat production has rebounded from its low point during the coronaviru­s pandemic when dozens of plants were closed, but experts say consumer prices are likely to remain high.
TYSON FOODS VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Workers wear protective masks and stand between plastic dividers at the Tyson Foods’s Camilla, Ga., poultry processing plant. Meat production has rebounded from its low point during the coronaviru­s pandemic when dozens of plants were closed, but experts say consumer prices are likely to remain high.
 ?? NATI HARNIK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Livestock stand in a feedlot in Columbus, Neb., this week, part of the backlog of millions of pigs and cattle, creating headaches for producers.
NATI HARNIK — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Livestock stand in a feedlot in Columbus, Neb., this week, part of the backlog of millions of pigs and cattle, creating headaches for producers.

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