meat processing

One of the sectors of the Ag community hit especially hard during the spread of COVID-19 last year was meatpacking plants nationwide. But, according to UC Davis, the impact was much more severe than initially thought. Researchers say an estimated 334,000 cases of COVID-19 are attributable to meatpacking plants, resulting in $11 ...

Count Idaho among the growing number of states in need of additional meat processing capacity. Idaho Cattle Association Executive Vice President Cameron Mulrony said as more reports and data regarding the pandemic's impact on the industry are published, it's becoming very apparent that more hook space is needed ...

The Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General is initiating an audit of USDA actions that may have contributed to the spread of the COVID-19 in meat processing facilities. The USDA OIG initiated the audit in response to Senator Michael Bennet's request, a Colorado Democrat, who asked for an investigation last August. Benn ...

Earlier this week, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association announced its support of The Strengthening Local Processing Act. Introduced last month, the legislation will increase local livestock and poultry producers' options and assist smaller facilities as they adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and expand to meet consumer demand. The ...

Legislation aimed at increasing meat processing and packing in Washington unanimously cleared the state Senate Tuesday. Senate Bill 5045, sponsored by Judy Warnick would make small and medium sized meat producers statewide eligible for support from a newly created Processing and Marketing Assistance Program ...

For cattle producers across Oregon, one of the biggest challenges to overcome currently is the lack of meat inspection or procession options across the state.  However, a bipartisan bill approved in last year’s legislative session looks to address that. Ho ...

After a volatile 2020, Cameron Mulrony, Vice President of the Idaho Cattle Association says he’s optimistic about the year ahead. And the reason for the optimism he pointed out started in the final months of last year with feeder calf sales. ...

Meatpacker JBS and chicken company Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation say they’ll pay 100 dollars to American workers who voluntarily get the COVID-19 vaccine. Early in the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of U.S. meatpacking workers were infected, so the bonus will hopefully encourage employees to get the inoculations. COVID-19 ...

A new analysis of independent data for 2020 shows that new COVID-19 infection rates amongst meat and poultry workers were five times lower in December than in May. Meanwhile, rates in the general population rocketed up nine times in the same period ...

To help the meat processors across the state, many of which are relatively small in size, the Washington state Department of Agriculture has made pandemic relief grants available. The funds will go to help address expenses associated with improving capacity during the coronavirus pandemic ...