PEORIA, Ill. — Due to hundreds of cases of COVID-19 at the nation’s meatpacking plants, several have had to close down operations.
Deloss Jahnke, with Illinois RFD, has said in some cases, there are migrant workers at these plants who probably don’t live in single-family households, adding to the spread of the virus.
“They work together. And, they come home, and they live together. It’s unfortunately something where if you get a virus, it’s passed around a lot,” Jahnke said.
With plants having to close, comes a backlog of animals ready for harvest. Cattle barns are having to cancel on-site auctions to comply with social distancing. Many of them are then resorting to online auctions instead.
“You’re watching the sale from your laptop at home instead of going to the sale barn. So, there is a lot of that. But, eventually, someone’s going to have to come pick up the cattle that you’ve bought,” Jahnke said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also affected the dairy industry in recent weeks, with producers in some cases having to dump milk that simply can’t be used.
