COVID-19 Makes Huge Impact on U.S. Economy

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused severe disruptions throughout the U.S. red meat and poultry industry.

 

 

As a result, consumers may find limited availability of some meat items at grocery stores, while meat and poultry producers may not be able to find a market for livestock and poultry ready to harvest. Plus, consumers may see higher prices for preferred meat products.

 

“The function of the price system is to prevent shortages and surpluses,” says Tim Petry, North Dakota State University Extension livestock economist. “That works very well until a sudden shock such as the pandemic unexpectedly disrupts the system.”

 

In the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s April 9 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, the USDA was projecting record U.S. beef, pork, chicken and total meat production in 2020. Just one month later, the May 12 WASDE report estimated declines in meat production for 2020 due to COVID-19-related issues. Expectations now are for beef production to decline 5%, with pork production down about 1% and chicken production off only slightly, with total meat production declining 1.6%.

 

More information about COVID-19’s impact on the red meat and poultry industry is available in a new monthly newsletter, Agriculture By the Numbers, written by Extension specialists in NDSU’s Agribusiness and Applied Economics Department. Other topics in the first issue are the short- and intermediate-term food demands and consumer spending related to COVID-19, the immediate impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. corn ethanol industry, and the challenge of trying to anticipate what market adjustments will occur because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

“Each issue will tackle current events related to agricultural issues in North Dakota and the Upper Great Plains region, as well as how national issues may affect state agricultural and energy issues,” says Bryon Parman, NDSU Extension agricultural finance specialist.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.