Back in the mid-1980s, the question “where’s the beef” was a light-hearted way for one restaurant chain to poke fun at its competitors.
The question is not so funny now, given a rapidly-shrinking meat supply in stores and a resulting jump in meat prices.
Coronavirus has added to woes already evident in the meat industry, but it’s caused its own headaches as well — and area residents involved in the industry gave their perspectives on KVOE’s On-Air Chat on Wednesday.
A study last month by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association estimated the COVID-19 losses by themselves would top $13 billion, the latest blow to an industry that has seen low prices and animal issues due to a range of weather conditions before supply tightened after the fire at Tyson’s processing plant in Holcomb last year. Brian Keith of Keith Cattle Company near Allen says COVID-19 has “taken the wind out of everybody’s sails.” Both the fat and feeder cattle segments have recovered slightly but are still depressed.
Shane Tiffany co-owns Tiffany Cattle Company, with feedlots near Herington and Marquette. He says production dropped to 55 to 60 percent of normal as packing plants had other employees get sick and others not going to work.
Many restaurants have limited their activity or closed due to the pandemic, which has had some impact on demand, but Tiffany says supply is the bigger concern. Meat locker businesses are “booked solid” until fall at the earliest — and in some cases until next year. Also, cattle reach a point where they become “more inefficient in their growth phase” — meaning they rapidly become a liability when they can’t be harvested under normal timetables.
Brody Peak owns Emporia Livestock Sales. He mentioned the ongoing controversy about the so-called “Big Four” meatpackers — Cargill, JBS, National Beef and Tyson — notably, continuing concerns the packers are manipulating markets to get big profits for themselves at the expense of ag producers. He says the market swings recently aren’t based on what he calls “fundamentals.”
Beef isn’t the only meat impacted. Pork and poultry are also seeing similar issues.
The US Department of Agriculture is investigating the price spread and has said a report is coming soon.
If there is one benefit to the whole situation, Peak says residents are learning the importance of agriculture — and especially beef as a source of protein. That realization has kept demand high even amidst the current supply issues.
