The Pandemic Showed That Big Is Fragile

What is it about?

The COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions in the livestock industry. The sector that was most adversely affected in the U.S. was the pork industry. Thousands of pigs had to be destroyed on the farm when the processing plants were either completely shut down or ran at greatly reduced capacity. The cattle market had price fluctuations but relatively few cattle had to be destroyed on the farm, because grain rations for fattening can be switched to either hay or other roughages. This is where a ruminant animal has advantages over a monogastric animal such as pigs. When pigs are ready for market it is more difficult to slow down growth. Within two months after the plants shut down due to sick employees, the capacity went back up to 80% to 90% when employees returned to work. This crisis of having to destroy pigs on the farm peaked during a two month period and then tapered off.

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