COVID-19 Causes Closure Of Iowa Pork Plant

Tyson Foods announced this week that it was stopping processing at an Iowa pork plant, due to a number of employees testing positive for COVID-19.

The plant processes over 10,000 hogs per day.

Tyler Fulton with Hams Marketing Services says this will have a major impact on the broader industry.

"We're not at our seasonal peak and so that's probably saving us a little bit but it's very concerning when a plant goes down, because what happens is, all of those hogs that would normally go into that plant have to be routed elsewhere. It causes logistical nightmares in several different areas, not to mention the possibility of some animal health concerns."

Fulton notes a closure like this will have a negative impact on the entire value chain.

He adds over the past couple of weeks, hog futures and forward contracts have dropped about a third of their value.

Cash markets have dropped more than 10 per cent over the past week.