W. Processors Closing, Pork Producers Confront Possibly Killing Tens Or Hundreds Of 1,000s Of Hogs

[hatrack]

The closure of major pork processing plants across the U.S., including the massive Smithfield Foods plant in Sioux Falls, has state officials and pork producers in South Dakota planning for the worst — the potential euthanization of thousands of hogs that cannot be sold. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, American pork processing capacity has declined as much as 25% due to closures and slowdowns at processing plants around the country.

As a result, thousands of pigs at all stages of life are backing up in barns around South Dakota as farmers race to find somewhere to take finished hogs for slaughtering and packaging. Some producers say they are selling hogs at a loss of around $40 per animal in an effort to make space in their barns and avoid euthanization. Such losses, they say, are not sustainable if the pandemic drags on and plants that have become COVID-19 hot spots are not opened soon.

“The absolute worst case would be that we would have to work with our state veterinarians and our local vets and follow the guidelines set forth by them and in the national pork board on humanely euthanizing these hogs and having to dispose of them,” said Shane Odegaard, a pork producer who lives near Lake Preston. “It’s something nobody wants to do. But, heaven forbid, if there’s absolutely no place to go with these hogs, you just can’t keep them around forever from the standpoint of animal welfare.”

Between plant closures and slowdowns around the country, COVID-19 has cut pork processing capacity by about a quarter of its pre-pandemic capacity, said Glenn Muller, executive director of the South Dakota Pork Producers’ Council. The loss of processing capacity translates to about 100,000 fewer hogs being processed in the country every day, Odegaard said. Statistics show it won’t take long for a massive backlog of hogs to reach a critical stage.

EDIT

https://investigatemidwest.org/2020/04/22/closure-of-smithfield-and-other-plants-forces-south-dakota-pork-producers-to-consider-desperate-measures/

[Fullduplexxx]

1. Followed by extreme inflation/shortages

[Chainfire]

2. This is the result

Of the meat packers failing to protect their workers. They could have slowed production, spread out the workers, made sure that they had PPEs, but instead they chose to run full steam ahead and rake in the money. Like most large employers they considered their workers disposable cogs in a money machine, only discovering, too late, that they could not be replaced over night.

It will be quite ironic to watch the killing and burying tens of thousands of hogs while people are struggling to feed their families.

Again, just a symptom of insatiable greed. Again, it is you that will suffer the consequence.

[eppur_se_muova]

3. The Invisible Bloody Hand of the Unrestrained Free Market(TM) at work again.

You really nailed it in your commentary, Chainfire.