Impending Meat Shortage?

[Gotbbq]

My honest guess is that supermarkets get their meat from processing plants, which I believe most are shut down due to the virus, while most meat markets process their own meats and get them directly from the farmers. My local supermarkets are always out of everything too but my local butcher shop always has everything in stock.

In Minnesota I have seen numerous ads from farmers on facebook saying that they need to sell their hogs for as little as $100 each, buyer finds their own processing and pays processing of course, because the corporate processing plants are shut down. They are saying that they either need to get rid of them by a certain date or they will be killed and buried because they can't afford to keep feeding them with the plants being down.

Sad if that is true, which I am assuming it is. Otherwise I don't know why they would be charging so little for them. I just wish I had the freezer space for one or two hogs. Maybe time to buy a 3rd freezer....

I wonder if my neighbors would mind if I raised a few Waygu ??

 

[cutplug]

Breaking News...POTUS just ordered meat processing plants back open!
Horns Out!

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

Breaking News...POTUS just ordered meat processing plants back open!
Horns Out!

Yah! Hopefully I'll be able to find meat easily now. But on a more important note hopefully the farmers can stop selling their livestock at a loss and they can be helped out in this time of need.

 

[cutplug]

On another note, its a good time to go to a food bank in San Fran. Wagyu steaks donated to
food banks.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Area-food-banks-have-a-surprise-for-15230171.php

 

[cutplug]

Yah! Hopefully I'll be able to find meat easily now. But on a more important note hopefully the farmers can stop selling their livestock at a loss and they can be helped out in this time of need.

Selling for a loss, it is called kill and bury.

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

Selling for a loss, it is called kill and bury.

Some farmers around my area were literally killing and burying so that they didn't need to feed them, some were donating to help others and some were selling for less than they needed to break even. Regardless it is sad and I feel bad for the farmers.

 

[ghuns]

The 5th largest pork processing plant in the country is local to me.

Cass County accounts for nearly half of new coronavirus cases in Indiana Monday

Trump can order them to open, just not sure who will be working there. That plant employs about 2200 people. The county it's in now has over 1000 cases of the virus. The workers there are mostly hispanic. The local native population has very little interest in cutting hogs, especially with what unemployment is paying these days.

I don't know any local farmers who are killing off hogs just yet. But I know plenty that are selling them for .30/lb live weight. But you better plan on butchering it yourself. All the small local processors are BOOKED.

 

[mooncusser2k]

@mooncusser2k , you have an excellent grip on the issues at hand, refreshing to see. Another "hole in the bucket" that fits what you noted is the packaging, e.g. plastic and glass containers for consumer size stuff, are having difficulty keeping up with the shift in demand/supply.

Excellent point, quite true. Think I read the FDA had to approve use of different containers for hand sanitizer because of the shift in demand/supply. Plenty of other examples, I'm sure.

(In the interest of disclosure, I did buy a foodservice size jug of BBQ sauce - because BBQ sauce...)

 

[mooncusser2k]

Breaking News...POTUS just ordered meat processing plants back open!
Horns Out!

I usually avoid politics on forums like this - it's not why we're here. That said...

The reality of the laws may not match the administration's PR effort or headlines. Not sure that the DPA actually gives a President the authority to force plants to open/remain open.

And there's not much they can do to "order" workers back to the plants. Some will not go. A percentage of workers and unions are unhappy about the lack of protections for workers' health and safety, and understandably so. The Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls alone accounts for around 1100 cases so far. I wouldn't like those odds. The politicians' talk of shielding corporations from liability says a lot about where human beings stand in the pecking order...

Imagine if the administration had prioritized the development of testing capacity and increased production/procurement of PPE back in the first quarter of 2020, instead of squandering months of preparation time. If only...

 

[Uncle Bob]

I usually avoid politics on forums like this - it's not why we're here. That said...

The reality of the laws may not match the administration's PR effort or headlines. Not sure that the DPA actually gives a President the authority to force plants to open/remain open.

And there's not much they can do to "order" workers back to the plants. Some will not go. A percentage of workers and unions are unhappy about the lack of protections for workers' health and safety, and understandably so. The Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls alone accounts for around 1100 cases so far. I wouldn't like those odds. The politicians' talk of shielding corporations from liability says a lot about where human beings stand in the pecking order...

Imagine if the administration had prioritized the development of testing capacity and increased production/procurement of PPE back in the first quarter of 2020, instead of squandering months of preparation time. If only...

I agree on avoiding the political "fire storms" but will add that the previous administration with a different color jersey had the H1N1 virus in 2009 and was equally ill prepared to deal with it in what hindsight would call a timely manner. Hindsight makes geniuses of a lot of folks, and critics of many (this is not a shot at you, it's just a comment on human nature). As an old boss of mine would like to say; "Hindsight is 20/20, if you had an eye in your ass you'd be perfect."

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Yesterday morning, we got in the seniors hour at Costco.

30 mins after they opened, no pork at all, and not a lot of beef except for the pricey stuff. There was a couple brisket flats. There was a few prime rib roasts and some prime steaks. I snagged a pack of 4 prime NY steaks. I charcoal/mesquite grilled one of the NYs yesterday....ooooh soooo good. I vac packed 3 this morning.

Over in the processed brand meat section, I picked up a few large angus beef tritips (pre-seasoned). Also, there was a cooler with 3 packages of St Louis ribs that Costco had pre-seasoned. I usually don't buy the pre-seasoned stuff. But we needed meat for tomorrow's Front Yard Grilling Day on our block.

I was also in a Smart & Final (a midsized chain trying to be a little big-box store) and saw a couple choice grade whole packers. They had decent marbling but I didn't get one. But overall, meats were a bit skimpy.

Thinking about getting a deep freezer. Right now we just have a couple large side by sides. Normally way more than enough room for the two of us.

 

[cutplug]

Yesterday morning, we got in the seniors hour at Costco.

30 mins after they opened, no pork at all, and not a lot of beef except for the pricey stuff. There was a couple brisket flats. There was a few prime rib roasts and some prime steaks. I snagged a pack of 4 prime NY steaks. I charcoal/mesquite grilled one of the NYs yesterday....ooooh soooo good. I vac packed 3 this morning.

Over in the processed brand meat section, I picked up a few large angus beef tritips (pre-seasoned). Also, there was a cooler with 3 packages of St Louis ribs that Costco had pre-seasoned. I usually don't buy the pre-seasoned stuff. But we needed meat for tomorrow's Front Yard Grilling Day on our block.

I was also in a Smart & Final (a midsized chain trying to be a little big-box store) and saw a couple choice grade whole packers. They had decent marbling but I didn't get one. But overall, meats were a bit skimpy.

Thinking about getting a deep freezer. Right now we just have a couple large side by sides. Normally way more than enough room for the two of us.

I thought Newsom mandated 1 freezer per person!

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I thought Newsom mandated 1 freezer per person!

Knewsomeone has about worn out the tolerance for him around here. Looks like Orange County beach cities will either defy his beach closings or take him to court. Protests going on in CA about closures.

 

[ModernRec]

our butcher shop down the street has everything still, grabbed me a 13lb choice brisket and some ribeyes ? ...now the grocery stores are looking scarce though

 

[mooncusser2k]

I agree on avoiding the political "fire storms" but will add that the previous administration with a different color jersey had the H1N1 virus in 2009 and was equally ill prepared to deal with it in what hindsight would call a timely manner. Hindsight makes geniuses of a lot of folks, and critics of many (this is not a shot at you, it's just a comment on human nature). As an old boss of mine would like to say; "Hindsight is 20/20, if you had an eye in your ass you'd be perfect."

Let's acknowledge today's situation and 2009's are vastly different. As tempting as it might be to engage in rhetoric that paints them as comparable. (This isn't an attempt to extend debate.)

 

[mooncusser2k]

The fresh meat offerings at most supermarkets around here are looking real scarce. I did find one supermarket with more selection, but even then it was more expensive beef and pork with barely any chicken. I'm sure there's even less there today.

A nearby wholesale club had a few pork shoulders and loins, almost no beef and zero poultry. A bit of pre-sliced lunch meat and some hot dogs. Even the frozen section was real sparse, things like chicken nuggets/tenders and french fries were nonexistent. Looked like they were shaking the trees for any product to put out - saw stuff I'd never seen sold there before.

Sure is weird to see, and unsettling. Especially for a society used to getting what they want when they want it. I know people whose idea of real hardship is slow WiFi...

 

[RHEINLEIN]

I am a huge fan of Butcher Box.com.
We receive monthly shipments.
The quality difference I’ve never experienced.
The brisket is 2.25 lbs but point and flat in one.
All grass fed / grass finished free range.
Pork is all heritage and no antibiotics, had no idea the butt could be so good. Ribs are also night and day quality difference, marbling.
Looks like a waiting list due to the crunch but sign up. Seems a bit high but we’ll worth the flavor.

 

[johnwick]

There are multiple factors involved. Supply chains for commercial/institutional products are different from those for consumer products. Often in different plants with different processing lines and different packaging and shipping. Toilet paper shortages aren't all because of hoarding - people are also using more at home and less at work/school/businesses. Before now your average household wouldn't consider buying an 80-roll case of toilet paper or a giant-sized roll like those for school/work restroom dispensers. Can you imagine most home cooks with a #10 can of anything? Most also wouldn't buy a whole beef strip - they want it already sliced and neatly under plastic wrap in a foam tray the way nature intended. They also aren't going to buy a 10-gallon bag of milk used in a school cafeteria. You get the idea... And switching plants from commercial to consumer sizes isn't simple - they just aren't setup that way.

When supply chains are described as being efficient, that often refers to getting a product where it needs to be and when it's needed. Usually just in time for expected demands (emphasis on expected) and with timing that's carefully choreographed. That also means there isn't a lot of extra product in the pipeline - you don't have 2 month's supply of (fill in the blank) sitting in warehouses and freezers just hanging around waiting to ship to supermarkets. So when schools stop ordering bulk milk (because cafeterias aren't open) and consumers buy more half-gallon cartons and gallon jugs (because everyone is at home), you wind up with today's irony of dairy farmers dumping milk they can't ship while many store shelves look sparse.

Meat processing brings another set of challenges. Workers are often in very close quarters with each other, and relatively limited use of personal protective equipment to avoid sharing diseases (eg, masks don't work when they get wet). Many processing plants have become COVID-19 hotspots. In some cases, the main method to increase production is to speed up the line, which usually means more people in the same amount of space and can lead to more injuries among workers. Farms also aren't setup to hold animals beyond a certain timeframe. So there's a story last week that millions of chickens in Delaware and Maryland will be killed and never go to market ("depopulated") because of slowdowns and shutdowns at processing plants.

I don't write this to make people nervous. More to acknowledge that a lot of us are seeing (some of us for the first time) just how fragile supply and distribution chains can truly be. We'll get through this, but consumers and producers alike will need to be flexible and adapt.

Well said on each and every point! This man knows things...