Indiana Correspondent 

LOGANSPORT, Ind. – The recent closure of more pork processing plants due to COVID-19 is adding to concerns about the nation’s food supply.

The latest temporary shutdowns last week at Tyson plants in Logansport, Ind., and Waterloo, Iowa, follow several other Tyson closures including one at the Smithfield pork processing operation in South Dakota.

On April 24 Indiana Packers Corporation in Delphi, Ind., announced a temporary shutdown of its pork processing facilities. 

Helping to somewhat ease worries about the food supply was the April 21 reopening of a previously shuttered Tyson pork plant in Columbus Junction, Iowa.

Jim Mintert, an agricultural economist at Purdue University, said about 15 of the largest pork processors in the U.S. are in the Midwest and they account for 60-percent of the hogs slaughtered in the nation.

“If you get one or two or three or four of these plants shut down it can have some real big impacts,” he said.

Farmers providing animals to the shuttered plants are now dealing with back-ups and higher feed costs until they can get their hogs in for slaughter.

According to Tyson, the Indiana facility processes three million pounds of pork daily from 250 independent family farmers in nine states.

Indiana Farm Bureau president Randy Kron said he’s reached out to the Indiana Pork Producers Association and others, including the governor and lieutenant governor, for getting resources to the Logansport operation.

“This is a devastating blow to the pork producers who sell hogs to Tyson. We ask all local and state officials involved to find an innovative solution to reopen this facility,” said Kron.

According to health officials, the Indiana plant had more than 140 confirmed COVID-19 cases and the Iowa plant more than 360 cases when the operations temporarily ceased. 

Tyson agreed to the temporary closures so the 5,000 workers at both facilities can be tested and the people they’ve had recent contact with are monitored and self-quarantined, if necessary, to help limit the spread in the community.

The decisions were in response to mounting pressure from officials in each of the communities.

The Cass County Commissioners, for example, voted to close the Indiana plant. 

Steve Stouffer, group president for Tyson Fresh Meats, said the Logansport operation suspended its operation for one day prior to the closure for a deep cleaning and sanitizing of the facility and was running at limited capacity before the shutdown.

“The combination of worker absenteeism, COVID-19 cases and community concerns has resulted in a collective decision to close,” he said.

“Tyson has done its part in implementing measures and are now working with us to test workers. We’re making a clear commitment to do our part to mitigate the spread within the community,” said Dr. Dori Ditty, the Cass County Health Department officer.

Josh Trenary, executive director of Indiana Pork, said the Logansport plant imposed other measures like mandated use of face masks and social distancing protocols before the shutdown.

“Indiana Pork recognizes the need for these plants to take special precautions to ensure worker safety. In the long run, if that’s what it takes to make sure plant employees are safe and plants can continue to operate then it’s all worth it,” Trenary said. “In the meantime though, these temporary shutdowns and other plant labor issues across the country are causing even more of a backup of pigs on farms. Severe backups can cause animal welfare issues that farmers may have to take drastic measures to resolve.

 “Indiana farmers want access to markets and to continue to provide quality pork to consumers, but they need adequate packing capacity to do it. The decision to temporarily close Indiana Packers is a major detriment to pork farmers, especially in light of all other previous closures across the country. Worker safety must come first, and we know that that local and state health officials and Indiana Packers management are working quickly to get this important part of our pork industry up and running as soon as possible.” 

According to Tyson officials, when the plants reopen depends partially on how many workers test positive for the virus.

Tyson officials said the Columbus Junction plant opened after two weeks but was was running at limited capacity. It will gradually increase production.