The disruptive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the broad U.S. agricultural system have been widespread. The various impacts have created a crisis for farmers and their families. One that has been felt immediately and left them devastated. While businesses closed down or moved online, work on the farm did not. Farmers still had cattle to be fed through the crazy, chaotic times we have seen. Some family farms were lucky in hindsight and sold cattle in early 2020. Those who were not lucky are now struggling to move their cattle nationwide. Not being able to move cattle means that farmers are going to have to feed more than anticipated, which means their profits are going to continuously drop due to related expenses. Packing plants started shutting down as a precaution or due to employees testing positive for COVID-19. The plants were unable to process cattle, leaving farmers to truck their cattle even further, or continue feeding them until the plant reopened. Food prices across the country have increased since early 2020 while producer checks continue to shrink. Rising wholesale costs, retail food prices and empty shelves drew a lot of public attention and stoked fear in Americans who were worried about the availability and affordability of their food. Just like the rest of the country, farmers were worried about how they were going to provide for their families. Instead of not being able to find enough food in supermarkets, farmers had no way to get their product to the supermarket. While some family farms have been able to recover from the detrimental effects, others have not. These heartbreaking effects of the pandemic have yet to be brought to public attention and often go unrecognized by the vast majority of the population.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic started, fat cattle were being sold at $1.42/pound on average. During the peak of COVID-19, fat cattle were being sold around $0.55- $0.75/pound. Thankfully, the prices this week have averaged $1.27/pound. During the peak of COVID when prices drastically dropped, cattle producers were losing $200-$400 per head. Meanwhile, packing plants were profiting $800-$1,000 per head. Some of you may remember how hard and expensive it was to buy beef during the pandemic. Unfortunately, cattle producers are not seeing any of the profit.
The last year has been brutal for us all. There’s no denying that. My family preached while growing up that relying on your faith is huge. My grandfather would always say “faith is facing facts and not being discouraged by them.” I’m hopeful that the markets will eventually turn in our favor, and the people of America will finally recognize the amazing work beef producers have done in being the best stewards of the land while producing the most delicious, nutritious, and safe beef in the entire world.
Hello readers, my name is Reid Gradert and I am a senior at Western Illinois University, where I am majoring in Agricultural Science. I grew up on a cattle and row crop farm in Northwest Illinois. I was incredibly fortunate to have spent many of my younger days with my grandfather and father working with cattle and growing row crops. From my earliest days, I could tell you that I wanted to continue feeding cattle. After graduating from Western in May, I will be entering the beef industry as a cattle buyer and will continue to feed cattle.
Western Illinois University School of Agriculture 