November U.S. beef exports jumped 6% higher, the largest since July 2019. Meanwhile, U.S. pork exports January-November set new annual records for both volume and value.
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., the nation’s second-largest U.S. chicken processor, said it has reached a settlement to pay $75 million to a group of poultry buyers in a price-fixing lawsuit.
Line speeds at some poultry plants were increased last year, a move critics claim also increased the spread of the coronavirus among poultry plant workers. The administration seeks to make the rule permanent.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the Meat Institute’s challenge to California’s 2018 ballot initiative that imposes new standards for animal housing.
The Meat Institute has joined with the United Food and Commercial Workers Union in asking governors from all 50 states to prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations for frontline meat and poultry workers.
Livestock producers will face more feed cost inflation next year than they have in a decade, challenging their ability to recover from a difficult, volatile 2020.
President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday he has asked the Justice Department to look into allegations that U.S. meat packers broke antitrust law.
Three meat industry trade groups sent a letter to the nation’s governors seeking to prioritize meat and poultry workers for COVID-19 vaccinations following healthcare workers and those in long-term care facilities.
U.S. pork exports continued on a torrid pace through the first 10 months of the year, with exports up 15% over last year and now accounting for 26% of all U.S. production.
New research published by the National Academy of Sciences ties livestock meat packing plants to 6% to 8% of U.S. COVID-19 cases, and 3% to 4% of the deaths through late July.
