COVID’s effects on American economy are undeniably catastrophic; nearly 100,000 businesses have permanently shut down, the stock market saw its biggest crash since the Great Depression, and the global trade market has lost over one trillion dollars in potential profits.
These stories have made the headlines for months, but there are other groups of people which have faced the same severity of economic turmoil. Among that group is farmers. The United States has around 800 slaughterhouses which are responsible for processing billions of pounds of meat annually. April saw the closure of many of these slaughterhouses.
With slaughterhouses out of operation, many farmers lost their only source of income. “The packing pants were operating almost full bore when it started, and then when about a third of them closed at a time, the market got really bad,” hog farmer Josh Hawk stated.
To add insult to injury, the hog market was already steadily declining. The January hog prices in 2020 were down 23% compared to the January hog prices from 2014 to 2018. During the market’s worst time in July, the prices were down over 66%.
Other types of farmers weren’t spared from the effects of COVID either. Dairy farmer Michael Musal felt the same rock bottom in July. “This summer was the toughest time, the meat packing plants were closed and no one could take any animal products anywhere. Dairy farmers were dumping milk and it was just a really hard time for everyone,” Musal stated.
With such severe financial challenges, many farmers’ mental health took a toll. “The roughest times were at the beginning when no one knew how it was going to shake out. It was mentally stressful when we weren’t sure we could get rid of the hogs,” Hawk recalled.
Despite COVID’s remaining presence, the farming industry is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. In October, prices surged past pre-COVID levels.
Hawk believes there are many factors playing into the resurgence of pork prices. “Since the federal government stepped in and farmers got a good stimulus amount, the farming economy has rebounded considerably,” Hawk said.
While no one knows when things will return to normal, both Musal and Hawk share the rest of the farming community’s hopes that the worst is behind them.
