Meat Shortage
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: JL
28-Apr-20
I'm seeing there might be a meat shortage due to the packing plants trying to shutdown due to the virus. Myself.....not counting 2012 when I quit hunting due to sickness, last year was the first year since 2000 I didn't get a deer. I do have an antelope from Montana to chew on and salmon/sheephead/trout fishing has always kept the freezer from being empty so I should be good for a while. It is very, very rare I have to buy store-bought beef. I do buy chicken and pork butts for smoking and vacuum sealing. Hopefully everyone has some wild game and/or fish in the freezer if this shortage does happen and sticks around for a bit?? I might have to re-think letting those deer pass this upcoming year.
From: RK
28-Apr-20
No shortage. Supply chain problem. If anything a surplus
maybe some delays and price adjustments
From: JL
28-Apr-20
If the processors aren't processing because they shut down, then you will have a shortage downstream. Upstream.....I watched a news story last week on the RFD channel about a cattle rancher in the midwest who was saying if the processors shut down, he will have to figure out what to do with the ready for market cattle he has. He mentioned the possibility of destroying them so they can make room for the new young ones to come in. Otherwise they are stuck with ready for market ones they can't get rid of and young ones to replace them. They said they can't afford nor have the space to keep both at the same time. If that were to happen, it seems like a waste. Sounds like a mess for the midwest cattle ranchers.
From: Shuteye
28-Apr-20
I have plenty of deer meat and fish in my freezer and can add more fish. There is plenty of beef on the farms but the processing plants are shut down. The beef and hog farmers are in a bind since they can't have the animals processed.
From: RK
28-Apr-20
So that would be no shortage. Surplus is being killed ?? "We " are not killing them. "You" may be. Separate issues
From: Stekewood
28-Apr-20
Some people just love to argue for the sake of arguing and there is no point trying to argue with them.
From: Huntcell
28-Apr-20
i can see the grazing allotments on federal land, including National forest and BLM, being inundated with extra stock above their contracted head count. Cheap place to hold them and wait to fill in the gap (price spike)once the supply chain gets going.
not so good for the flora and fauna, water holes, terrain.
From: Screwball
28-Apr-20
Money is not in the farmer and ranchers, so much imported and poor quality from Mexico, Canada, Africa now etc. No truth in labeling either.
From: RT
28-Apr-20
Does insurance cover the animals that are wasted? Would ranchers take offers on the livestock?
From: JL
28-Apr-20
^....I'm thinking if someone has an empty freezer, they could make an offer on a cow or hog right now. Just have to slaughter it yourself or find someone who will. On the other side, I don't know how livestock operations work. If the rancher is under contract to only sell to the processor....then maybe he can't sell single cows or hogs. A guess on my part??? I suppose they could get creative and sell some to a high fence outfit.
From: weekender21
29-Apr-20
Definitely a surplus at the moment. It's a shame farmers are even having to consider burying livestock in mass graves. However, it's not surprising. Just think about how many restaurants shut down partially or completely and almost overnight. Demand significantly decreased.
From: DanaC
29-Apr-20
Processing plants shut downs means the meat does not *enter* the supply chain heading toward the stores. This sucks for farmers and ranchers now and will suck for consumers when what is in the 'pipeline' dries up.
From: altitude sick
29-Apr-20
Find a local small producer. And he will have a small local slaughter house.
They most likely will be backed up. And you may have to wait 2-4 weeks to get your animal in.
Check your local Craigslist for animals.
If you have never bought an animal from them.
Ask for a sample of the packaged meat to try first.
all beef is not the same.
If you find a hog to slaughter, You should be able to process that yourself.
From: Slate
29-Apr-20
Still have plenty of my Elk left but, did finish off the last of my venison.
From: WIBUCK
29-Apr-20
I am a poultry farmer and my company is starting to break eggs instead of placing to be hatched. My birds should be going out but have not received any notice of when but have been told that they have no idea of when I will get new birds but it will be a while. We will not notice actual shortage for a while but it will come.
From: JL
29-Apr-20
^.....good looking freezer full. IMO...I'd take elk over venison.
The news said Prez Trump is going to make the processors stay open via the DPA Act. It was said if the Tyson chicken processor closed there would be 25% less chicken in the chain nationwide.
From: midwest
29-Apr-20
Elk is venison, too.
How do you force a meat processing plant to stay open if all the employees are sick?
From: Fuzzy
29-Apr-20
a limited supply of retail-ready meat available to the end-consumer is a "shortage" ....doesn't matter HOW many meat-critters are present somewhere else. dang some people would argue with a fence-post.
From: ki-ke
29-Apr-20
I'm asking the same question Nick... Gov't can "force" the plants to stay open, but the real issue is getting workers to show up. If 50% of the workforce are afraid to come to work, allowing plants to remain open hasn't begun to solve the supply chain problem....the processing plants aren't the only industry affected by workers not wanting to return to work....
From: Fuzzy
29-Apr-20
the truth is this country was facing a dire shortage of "workers" (as opposed to people who want paychecks) even before the current "crisis"
From: Slate
29-Apr-20
Yes Nick you are correct and I would definitely take Elk over Whitetail
From: midwest
29-Apr-20
Slate....Me too! But Iowa whitetail ain't too shabby, either. ;-)
From: Dale06
29-Apr-20
What pig doc said is correct. I worked for a corporation that produced hog and other livestock feed. The days of pigs eating a little whole corn and table scraps is over for anyone that’s in the business of raising hogs for a profit.
From: JL
29-Apr-20
I just went to the local chain grocery store (Meijers) to see what it looked like for meat. They still had signs up saying everything is in high demand or limiting how much you could purchase. They were out of pork chops. They had alot of hamburger but it seemed kinda spendy to me....$3.99 a pound for 80/20 in the family pack. They did have some hamburger in 1 pound vacuum packs but it was from a different supplier then they normally use. They had some chicken breasts and thighs but no whole chicken. Their store brand smoked bacon was a little more expensive. For now everything looked ok at that store. Maybe later this afternoon or evening the pickin's might be a little scare as more folks go out.
From: Marty
29-Apr-20
You can buy whatever you want right now from the feed yards that are fattening cattle. The hard part is getting them butchered. I bought 8 head of fat steers that I raised and a neighbor bought to fatten. They will be ready around July 1st, I made my reservations over a month ago at a butcher, that is how backed up the small butchers are. I also bought a couple fat hogs from another neighbor that raises them and they are scheduled to go in Sept to the butcher. I've done hogs myself and even tried a beef before, it's not terrible to do, the beef is just hard to age if you aren't set up for it and I'm not. Hopefully things will turn around and we won't have to worry about it. I still have deer, fish, duck, and turkey in the freezer, but it doesn't last really long when that's all you're eating. Best of luck!
From: butcherboy
29-Apr-20
I’m not a producer of cattle or swine but I do process them everyday. Been around the industry for a long time so I am going to agree with pigdoc on this one!
From: keepemsharp
29-Apr-20
On an ag station recently they said that 35% of the hogs in the USA are owned by Chinese, they got all the dough to invest because we want $1000 phones made in China by folks that work for 50 cents a day.
From: weekender21
29-Apr-20
Off topic but I read an article this week that claims Chinese investors are purchasing cheap land in TX for future drilling. I really hope that's not the case. It's not legal in most countries around the world for foreigners to own land. I'm not sure why we allow it.
From: WV Mountaineer
29-Apr-20
Capitalism. However, our system has been exploited by lobbied politicians to ensure that it stays that way.
Ever wonder why communist China and all forms of dictator leadership world wide favor liberal leadership in American politics? From president down through both sectors of the house
Ever wander why Liberal politicians want a global economy? And how they ALWAYS defend those regimes against and attack from a conservative ruling American politician?
If you haven’t pondered this or don’t know the reason to your question of why it’s allowed here, then you’ve just been told why.
If our congress and senate would get on board, to level trade agreements, corporations world wide would be taking a number to move production here. Due to the security and stability that the United States offers for their investment. It’s so easy to see and understand. Yet, our elected officials act as if it’s a riddle. It isn’t. It’s just ensured to remain a mystery because it carries lots of trailing zero’s to politicians so it stays that way.
From: HDE
29-Apr-20
"...claims Chinese investors are purchasing cheap land in TX for future drilling."
Likely buying an interest in a lease with a majority owned by an American company.
From: JL
30-Apr-20
JL's Link
Commercial pig diets are an interesting subject. I did a little looking around on this and it is a scientific endeavor. Different diets for different phases of growth. Do many pig farms still use Ractopamine or Ractopamine products to promote lean pigs? That seems to be a controversial topic within the industry.
From: Shuteye
30-Apr-20
I bought a ham at Food Lion this afternoon. Trump didn't say the processing plants had to stay open, he said they were essential. Some governors had listed them as non essential and had to be closed. Abortions were listed as essential while fishing and hunting were non essential. Boating was non essential too in some places even if you wanted to go by yourself. You are not going to catch the virus out in the sunshine and fresh air but democrats don't want us to enjoy any thing.
From: WV Mountaineer
30-Apr-20
I shake my head at some of the decisions made in the name of safety
From: Fuzzy
30-Apr-20
Justin me too. btw I mailed you the butcher shop plans. I'm no draftsman so I hope they make sense. They were formulated to make use of affordable and locally available materials so they may not work for everyone.
From: WV Mountaineer
30-Apr-20
Thank you Cecil.
From: Fuzzy
30-Apr-20
I noticed you're in Princeton and I know you're in the forestry/wood products industry. I'd love to meet you and pick your brain sometime (I'm just across the mountain in Bland)
