Beef Buzz News
Beef Packers Struggle to Find Labor Force
Fri, 29 Oct 2021 10:26:11 CDT
The U.S. beef supply chain is complicated, with many unique and sometimes even conflicting factions that make it up. That makes it difficult to pinpoint issues when something goes wrong. That could not be truer of the U.S. beef industry now.
As beef cattle producers scale back herd sizes and feeders work through a surplus of cattle and meet 75% Plan negotiated cash trade silos, the processing facilities struggle to find a consistent tempo for product output. Chandler Keys, principal at Keys Group, a consulting and lobbying firm that serves some of the large meatpackers, told Radio Oklahoma’s own Ron Hays that labor shortages are preventing processing facilities from working at higher levels of capacity.
“I would say the big concern now is getting labor in these plants,” Keys said. “People just need to realize; the packers are increasing wages exponentially … but we still do not have the people coming into the plants and taking these jobs.”
Right now, most processing plants are running with about 60% of the normal and needed labor force to operate, Keys said.
“We are asking the workers to do a lot more and that puts a lot of pressure on these packers because people say, ‘get them to work Saturdays,’” Keys said. “They have been working Saturdays in the pork and beef plants for a few years now.”
Keys said it comes down to an issue of quality of life; people need more than one day off a week to rest a recuperate. The processing and packing industry do not want to push their labor force that hard when they are struggling to get people to show up for work already, he added.
There are no easy fixes on the horizon, according to Keys.
“A producer told me the other day, ‘what worries me more than an overcapitalized packing industry is an undercapitalized packing industry,’” Keys said. “I do not think any of the packers bemoan the added capacity that is coming on. You can build packing plants but if you do not have the labor to command them … it is very hard to get the labor to move from one plant to another plant.”
Click on the LISTEN BAR below to hear more from Ron Hays and Chandler Keys as they talk about the labor shortage affecting beef throughput at processing facilities.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
Listen to Ron's conversation with Chandler here.
right-click to download mp3
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Beef News
Cattle on Feed Report Shows Biggest May First Inventory Since 1996- Drought Pushing Cattle Into Feedlots Sat, 21 May 2022 15:01:06 CDT
Lance Zimmerman with Cattlefax Offers Cow Calf Producers Strategies for Success Fri, 20 May 2022 08:44:10 CDT
Kent Bacus says NCBA is Committed to Promoting Trade to Benefit US Cattle Producers Thu, 19 May 2022 09:54:10 CDT
John Butler with the Beef Marketing Group Communicates to Consumers that the Beef Industry is Sustainable Wed, 18 May 2022 09:46:15 CDT
John Butler with Beef Marketing Group Aims to See All Segments of the Beef Industry Working Together Tue, 17 May 2022 09:44:42 CDT
Fewer Pounds of Beef Coming in the Beef Pipeline Mon, 16 May 2022 09:02:35 CDT
NCBA's Colin Woodall Gives Credit to Cattle Producers for Always Being Sustainable Fri, 13 May 2022 11:08:03 CDT
Dakota Moss Describes Benefits of Utilizing an LRP Program for Cattle Producers Thu, 12 May 2022 09:53:54 CDT
Historically Poor Pasture Conditions to Hit Beef Supplies Ahead Wed, 11 May 2022 11:31:21 CDT
Six Years After Repeal, Senator John Thune Still Wants Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling Tue, 10 May 2022 09:39:50 CDT
USMEF's Erin Borror Suspects Increased Herd Liquidation May Lead to Tighter Supplies in the Future Mon, 09 May 2022 12:29:27 CDT
USMEF's Erin Borror Sees Growth in US Beef Exports for the Remainder of 2022 Fri, 06 May 2022 10:13:22 CDT
NCBA's Ethan Lane Hopes to Ensure Risk Management Tools Are Available for all Sectors of Cattle Production Thu, 05 May 2022 10:37:28 CDT
NCBA's Ethan Lane Believes Grassley-Fischer Bill Wil Not Accomplish What the Authors Are Intending Wed, 04 May 2022 09:18:44 CDT
Dr. Stephen Koontz says Mandated Cash Cattle Trade Will Cost Cow-Calf Producers Tue, 03 May 2022 17:30:26 CDT
NCBA Concerned with the Biden Admin's Plan to Publish their own WOTUS Rule Ahead of the Supreme Court Mon, 02 May 2022 09:03:33 CDT
NCBA's Mary Thomas Hart says U.S. Agriculture Needs a Clear Definition of WOTUS Sun, 01 May 2022 20:37:57 CDT
Don Schiefelbein tells U.S. House Ag Committee that Freedom to Market Matters Thu, 28 Apr 2022 11:20:51 CDT
President-Elect of KLA, Shawn Tiffany, asks Congress not to Limit the use of AMA's Wed, 27 Apr 2022 09:48:23 CDT
OSU's Derrell Peel Says We Could See at Least a 3-4% Decrease in the Beef Cow Herd in 2022 Tue, 26 Apr 2022 06:49:14 CDT
Surprise! Derrell Peel Says Feedlot Numbers Well Above Pre Report Expectations in Latest Cattle on Feed Report Sun, 24 Apr 2022 19:40:48 CDT
Dr. Bart Fischer Says Government-Mandated Cash Cattle Trade Could Reduce Prices to Cow-Calf Producers Fri, 22 Apr 2022 11:00:33 CDT
Cattle Producers Can Strategically Utilize the LRP Program to Secure Profit Thu, 21 Apr 2022 06:49:26 CDT
Dakota Moss Says Cattle Producers Can Benefit from Utilizing a LRP Program Wed, 20 Apr 2022 09:46:06 CDT
Dr. Rosslyn Biggs: Keep an Eye Out for Dust Pneumonia in Cattle During Dry Conditions Tue, 19 Apr 2022 07:53:43 CDT
Andy Holloway on Upcoming Annual Hemphill County Beef Conference Tue, 19 Apr 2022 07:46:21 CDT
USMEF Still Combatting Covid in Today's Global Market, Says Dan Halstrom Fri, 15 Apr 2022 12:29:37 CDT
Dan Halstrom with USMEF Sees 2022 Off to a Promising Start Thu, 14 Apr 2022 13:12:39 CDT
OSU's Derrell Peel Predicts Tighter Cattle Supplies Going Forward in the Drought Wed, 13 Apr 2022 08:26:27 CDT
K-State Researcher Sees Industrial Hemp as Stress Reducer for Cattle Tue, 12 Apr 2022 15:29:42 CDT
Oklahoma Cattlewomen's Beef Advocacy Contest for Youth Winner, Morley Griffith Tue, 12 Apr 2022 15:28:27 CDT
Virtual Fencing and the Advantages for Rotational Grazing with Jimmy Emmons Fri, 08 Apr 2022 08:04:21 CDT
Jimmy Emmons Talks on the Benefits of Starting Down the Road to Soil Health Thu, 07 Apr 2022 13:27:11 CDT
Jimmy Emmons Tells Ranchers to Be Proactive During Dry Times by Prioritizing Grazing Management Wed, 06 Apr 2022 08:42:08 CDT
Latest USDA Prospective Plantings Points to Lower Feeder Cattle Prices Ahead Tue, 05 Apr 2022 11:48:14 CDT