COVID-19 began impacting workers at beef packing plants in early April. In the last five weeks, cattle slaughter decreased by an average of 27%. This compares to the previous five weeks in March, when cattle slaughter averaged 5.5% higher than year-ago levels.

In the 1980s, there was a popular song on the radio with the title "Should I Stay, or Should I Go." A lot of producers today are asking themselves a form of that same question – should I stay the course and keep my cattle, hoping consumer demand and beef prices rise soon? Or, should I sell off a good share so I don’t incur the expense of feeding and maintaining excess numbers, not knowing when this crisis might end?

Leading during the COVID-19 pandemic for me has been hard. Leading during any crisis is hard.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, there are many advocating fasting as a solution to the problem. What could going without food have to do with stopping the spread of the virus?

COVID-19 continues to sweep through packing plant workers, leading to severe disruptions in beef processing. Estimated cattle slaughter for the week ending May 2 was 425,000 head, down 38% year over year.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released May 1 says 4,913 cases and 20 deaths have occurred among some 130,578 workers at 115 meat and poultry processing facilities in 19 states.