Plymouth County pork producer Bill Tentinger looks over some small piglets in a farrowing facility wondering if he will have space for additional pigs since two pork processing plants have shut down, at least temporarily.
(Le Mars) — With the closing of both the Tyson Foods plant at Columbus Junction, Iowa; and more recently, the Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, additional pressure is being placed on pork producers. Lee Schulz is an agricultural economist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach with a focus on livestock marketing.
Schulz says pork producers may see a drop in their prices, as a result of the interruption of processing.
Schulz says the nation had already been operating above a year ago processing level. He says cold storage has also been at a surplus. He says consumers may not see much change in the price of pork, however, supermarkets, grocery stores, and local butcher shops may not feature any specials on pork products
heading into the spring.
The Iowa State University Agricultural Economist says with many restaurants having been forced to close, that has also had an impact on the pork demand.
Schulz says pork producers will soon find themselves without much capacity as they are forced to hang on to their hogs that are ready for market, for a longer duration, meanwhile new born pigs and piglets recently weaned will be coming to finishing barns with no space available.
Calling it “a scary time”, pork producers like Bill Tentinger of
Le Mars, are deeply concerned as to what is happening in the pork industry with the spread of COVID-19 causing processing plants to shut down, and what could be a long-term problem. Tentinger, a former president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association and current director with the National Pork Board says the Smithfield plant located at Sioux Falls represents a significant percentage of the pork processing capacity for northwest Iowa pork producers.
Tentinger says the food production system is a fine-tuned machine with everything falling into a specific schedule. He says any interruptions to the scheduled system creates havoc for producers and consumers, alike.
The Plymouth County pork producer says retail outlets may find it difficult to obtain pork products if they relied on either the Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls, or the Tyson Foods plant in Columbus Junction.
Tentinger says pork producers are scrambling trying to find suitable accommodations for either new pigs coming in, or for hogs ready for market, but are forced to wait. He says it may come to a point where producers may have to euthanize pigs because of the economy and lack of facilities.
