Quick hits: New 'Product of USA' seal launched; mistaken inventions; farming worms win; a new weed killer

The label will require an affidavit be provided to the 
meatpacking company. (Photo via DTN)

Born. Raised. Harvested. Processed. That's the tagline for the new, voluntary USDA seal for U.S. meatpackers, intended to highlight "Product of USA" labeling for meat, poultry and egg products from U.S. farmers, Jennifer Carrico of Progressive Farmer reports. Unlike the previous "Product of USA" label, which only indicated that packaged food passed USDA inspections, the new label states that the meatpacker has proof that animals or eggs are in the U.S. throughout their life cycle. Labels can also be state-specific. Ethan Lane, from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, told Carrico, "You can now do a born, raised and harvested in Iowa label, through a USDA facility in Iowa." 

Goofs, flubs and unexpected outcomes are all part of inventions in the making, but in some cases, the mistakes turn into success. "From cornflakes to the pacemaker, some of our most beloved — and useful — products were born of blunders," reports Zlati Meyer of The Wall Street Journal. "The U.S. has repeatedly proved itself to be the land of luck. Harnessing happenstance has led to inventions that have changed the world." Read about 10 of the best mistaken inventions here. 

As earthworms move lime through farming soil, they help
 balance soil pH. (Photo by Blake Vince via Farm Journal)

Blake Vince is a Canadian farmer working to spread the word about no-till farming practices supported by worms. Vince likes to think of worms as "some of the most highly-valued help on his 1,200-acre Ontario, Canada, farm that never show up on a payroll sheet," reports Rhonda Brooks of Farm Journal. The well-known soil conservationist sees "earthworms as more than a sign of good soil — they’re central characters in how he farms, evaluates risk and stays profitable. . . . In a production system shaped by no-till, planting green and cover crops, he sees earthworms as the quiet workforce that’s helping hold the whole thing together."

The Herbert family in northern Iowa had old tractors that needed technology, but the upgrades that could take their machinery into the modern age weren't yet on the market. So, the Herbert family "developed the Cab Radio Upgrade Kit, a solution designed to bring modern connectivity to legacy equipment," reports Eduardo Morales of Farm Journal. "The project was a collaborative effort between T.L. Herbert, his wife, Rochelle, and their three teenage sons: Thomas, Mason and Colin. The idea sparked when Mason and Thomas grew tired of subpar audio options while working on their row-crop and cattle operation."

Part of being a farmer is battling weeds, and despite the perseverance of many farmers, sometimes the weeds seem to be winning, which explains why herbicides are so popular. This summer, one of the world’s biggest chemical companies, Syngenta, is releasing a new herbicide aimed at annihilating weeds in soybean and cotton crops. Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal reports, "Syngenta will begin selling a new weedkiller capable of eradicating grass weeds that have evolved to resist other common crop sprays." The chemical, called Virestina, will be sold and applied in South America first. 

After an unseasonably warm winter and spring, western states are heading into summer facing an "above-normal threat of wildfires," reports Grist. Predictive maps from the National Inter-agency Coordination Center show areas in the Rockies, Pacific Northwest, and northern California as high-risk for wildfires this summer based on "snow drought, rapid snowmelt, and a recent unprecedented heat wave." 

JBS beef meatpackers in Colorado plan strike over pay and company charges for protective equipment

JBS is the number one beef producer in the U.S.
(JBS photo)

American consumers are paying at or near record prices for beef, while nearly 3,800 workers at a JBS beef meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado, say little of the extra cash Americans are shelling out is going into their wallets, and they're planning to go on strike next week, reports Tom Polansek of Reuters.

The planned strike ‌"pits a workforce made up largely of immigrants against the world's largest meat company, and it has already driven ranchers to deliver cattle to alternate facilities," Polansek explains. "Meatpackers, including JBS, benefit from climbing prices but also must pay ​record costs to buy cattle to slaughter."

Despite livestock costs, JBS is still posting significant profits. Polansek notes, "JBS in November reported third-quarter profit of $581 million, ⁠down from $693 million a year earlier.

Kim Cordova, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7 union that represents workers in Greeley, told Reuters, "While customers are paying more than they ever have, none ​of that is trickling down to the frontline worker that's actually doing all the heavy work."

Cordova said JBS fails to adhere to labor laws and has "not negotiated fairly on a new contract over the past eight months," Polansek reports. She told Reuters that workers want a wage that helps them keep up with inflation, and they "want the company to ​stop charging them for replacing protective equipment they wear to do their jobs safely."

For now, JBS has denied Cordova's claims and is standing by its contract offer. JBS told Polansek, "It is strong, fair, and consistent with the historic national contract reached in 2025."

Meanwhile, cattle feeders are moving where they plan to sell their livestock. One feeder told Polansek, "We've ​got way more kill space than finished cattle ready ​to slaughter."

High beef prices are 'the new normal' for Americans

After years without profits, U.S. cattle ranchers resist
growing their herds. (Photo by K. Sikkema, Unsplash)

Even as U.S. consumers keep complaining about high beef prices and government officials, including President Donald Trump, have pressured cattle ranchers to lower their prices, American livestock owners have a message for both groups: Get used to paying more for red meat. Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal reports, "High prices are the new normal in the U.S. beef market."

Roughly five years ago, livestock owners were barely scraping by as they contended with high input prices, drought, wildfires and paltry payments from meatpacking companies. To cut costs, they reduced their herd sizes.

Now that beef prices have consistently risen, and consumer demand has remained robust, "ranchers are reluctant to erode their strongest profits in decades by increasing the size of their herds," Thomas explains. "As a result, the U.S. cattle herd is at its lowest level in 75 years."

In January, "ground-beef prices were up 17% from a year earlier, compared with a 2.1% rise for all other groceries over that time," Thomas writes. Beef remains a protein favorite for many Americans who continue to purchase it despite price hikes.

Cattle ranchers, who are finally seeing some profits, have opted to channel money into long-stalled repairs and paying down debts. Other ranchers are investing in breeding plans "that could yield juicier steaks — and possibly land them bigger paydays," Thomas explains. But most don't plan to increase their herd sizes.

All told, U.S. consumers can expect to pay more for beef in the foreseeable future. Thomas adds, "Meatpacking companies have signaled that a smaller beef supply is here to stay."

Smithfield Foods plans $1.3 billion investment in a new pork processing facility in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Smithfield's parent company, WH Group,
is based in China.

Smithfield Foods announced plans to invest $1.3 billion to build a new pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, S.D. "When in operation, the plant is expected to employ about 3,000 workers and be able to slaughter about 20,000 hogs a day," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "The new project replaces Smithfield’s existing, more than 100-year-old facility in the city."

The announcement comes as some U.S. lawmakers and officials have questioned Smithfield's ties to its Chinese parent company, WH Group, which took over the U.S.-owned company in 2013. Thomas writes, "The company has said it is investing in the U.S. and denied accusations that its decisions are influenced by the Chinese government."

Building a new slaughterhouse is expensive and rare in today's competitive market, where meat packers have struggled to glean profits. "Tyson Foods closed one of its largest beef processing plants, in Lexington, Neb., which employed 3,200 people, and cut production at a Texas facility in half."

Compared to 2023 margins, today's pork processors are making a profit. "Over the past year, JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker and Smithfield’s top pork rival, has said it is expanding its pork operations in response to Americans’ growing appetite for protein," Thomas explains.

The company's building plans feature "advanced automation technology and a streamlined design," Thomas adds. "The company said the plant will source about all of its hogs from nearby farmers in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota."

Small Nebraska town tries to steady itself after Tyson Foods announces meat processing plant closure

The Tyson Foods beef processing plant in Lexington, Nebraska, wasn't just a slaughterhouse that offered good wages and steady employment; it was the rural town's hub. The company's announcement in November that it would be closing the plant due to financial losses in the meatpacking industry in early 2026 shocked the community," report Scott Calvert and Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. 

Once a town of roughly 6,600 residents, with a small Hispanic population, the 35-year-old Tyson plant helped Lexington's population grow and its demographics change. Calvert explains, "By 2000, its population rose to 10,000, half of them Hispanic, a share that now stands at 65%."

Once the plant closes later this month, an economic and social domino effect is likely to change the town again. "An exodus of residents would slash local school enrollment and the customer base for area businesses," the Journal reports. "Truckers, feedlot operators and cattle ranchers face hits to their bottom line without the Lexington facility." 

Location of Lexington within Nebraska 
and Dawson County (Wikipedia map)

Lexington’s city manager, Joe Pepplitsch, remains optimistic that the town can rebound from Tyson's closure. He told the Journal, "There’s a hell of a lot of positives here."

Government officials want Tyson to retrofit or sell the plant. They don't want the sprawling buildings sitting idle. Calvert writes, "A Tyson spokeswoman said the company is assessing how it can repurpose the facility."

Some plant workers have already quit and relocated to work at the JBS meatpacking plant about 90 miles east in Grand Island, Neb., while others have taken packing positions at Sustainable Beef in North Platte, Neb.

After pandemic supply troubles left tribes without meat, some decided to invest in their own slaughterhouses

Workers cut steaks at Three Rivers Meat Company, whose majority 
owner is the Choctaw Nation. (Photo by Todd Price, Offrange)

U.S. meat supplies for Indian populations were unreliable during the pandemic, which led at least 18 Native American tribes to invest in building their own slaughterhouses, reports Todd Price for Offrange.

The Osage Nation in northern Oklahoma was one of the first tribes to decide that "they would build their own USDA-inspected meat processing plants," Price explains. Other Oklahoma tribes, including the Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation, Miami Nation, and Muscogee Nation, have also invested in their own meat plants.

Before the pandemic, many tribes owned land, raised livestock, or oversaw marine tracks. Following the pandemic-era slaughterhouse closures and meat supply bottlenecks, "Many tribes recognized the urgency of taking control of their food supply so they could always ensure their people would be fed," Price reports. "An estimated 18 tribes now operate plants that process meat and seafood."

Although slaughterhouses are expensive to build and have slim profit margins, Native tribes use "vertical integration" to leverage benefits. Price explains, "They own the animals and then sell the meat to their casinos or food assistance programs. And they do not always define success in dollars like a private business. Bringing good jobs to rural areas and meat to food deserts is part of the goal."

For tribes, being able to raise and process enough food to feed their people isn't just about making sure no one goes hungry. "It is also an important step towards food sovereignty — controlling the food supply and deciding what they will eat," Price reports. "And sovereignty, the power to govern themselves, is a right that tribes have long fought to preserve."

Tyson Foods plans to shutter one of the country's biggest beef processing plants in rural Lexington, Nebraska

The Lexington plant could process 5,000 head of cattle
per day. (Tyson photo)

Even with national beef prices at historic highs, Tyson Foods was still losing millions from its massive processing plant in rural Lexington, Nebraska. To stem its losses, Tyson announced  plans to close the facility "at a time when a cattle shortage in the U.S. squeezes meatpacking companies," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. 

U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, "blasted the decision," reports Cindy Gonzalez of the Nebraska Examiner. Fischer told reporters, “As the single largest employer in Lexington, Tyson’s announcement will have a devastating impact on a truly wonderful community, the region and our state." The plant employs nearly 3,000 people, and the small town has roughly 10,300 people.

While Tyson is the biggest of the four meatpacking companies that process 85% of beef in the U.S., it will be the first "to close a major plant during the current cattle supply crunch," Thomas explains. "Meatpackers have been losing hundreds of millions of dollars processing beef because of the lowest amount of cattle on U.S. pastures since the 1950s."

The announcement comes after months of pressure from the Trump administration to lower beef prices for consumers. Thomas writes, "President Trump said earlier this month that the Justice Department was investigating the meatpacking companies for conspiring to drive up prices."

Tyson also announced it is "moving its Amarillo, Texas, beef plant that can slaughter about 6,000 cattle a day to a single shift, down from two shifts a day," Thomas adds. The Nebraska plant could slaughter nearly 5,000 cattle per day. Tyson's plant closure and Texas shift change could further tighten U.S. beef supplies and push grocery store beef prices higher.

After an immigration raid takes more than half of its labor force, a meatpacking company looks at ways to begin again

Immigration agents raided Glenn Valley Foods on June 10.
(ICE photo via Nebraska Examiner)

After Immigration and Customs agents arrested roughly half its labor force, meatpacking company Glenn Valley Foods in Nebraska is looking for ways to start over. 

The company had religiously used the federal system, E-Verify, to cross-check employees' eligibility to work in the U.S., but federal agents still arrested 76 workers "who they said were undocumented immigrants using false identification," reports Eli Saslow of The New York Times.

Before the raid, Glenn Valley Foods was expanding with "new hires, new manufacturing lines, and new sales records [as] one of the fastest-growing meatpacking companies in the Midwest," Saslow writes. "But, in a matter of weeks, production had plummeted by almost 70%. Most of the workforce was gone." 

Now, the company is piecing together a new workforce with a new human resource manager, Alfredo Moreno, who believes "the only way to truly prevent fraud is to scrutinize IDs with black lights and magnifying glasses to make sure they aren't fake, and then interview each potential employee in person," Saslow reports. "The government maintained that Glenn Valley employees had been using IDs that were stolen." 

The raid cost Glenn Valley days of business, but slowly, a barebones crew formed, and some lines restarted. Meanwhile, Moreno and his tiny HR staff are still using E-Verify along with their additional verification measures to try to hire as quickly as possible. Still, almost none of their applicants are U.S. citizens.

Since the raid, the company's owner, Gary Rohwer, has "received phone calls from strangers who accused him of 'stealing American jobs,'" Saslow writes. "But Nebraska [has] a work shortage, with only 66 qualified workers for every 100 positions. . . . 'There are some jobs Americans don’t want to do,' Rohwer tried explaining to one caller. 'We’re caught up in a broken system.'"

A rural community bets on a beef slaughterhouse dedicated to changing the industry to attract American workers

The Sustainable Beef plant is the size of 10 football fields.
(Sustainable Beef photo)

In a bid to oust the slaughterhouse industry's bad reputation and attract American workers, Sustainable Beef opened a brand new plant in rural North Platte, Neb. 

The old rail town needed the financial lift and the "company believes the gleaming plant will appeal to locals who never would have considered doing such work," report Scott Calvert, Arian Campo-Flores and Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "Town officials are pinning their hopes on [the] slaughterhouse, which promises an economic jolt but represents a risky bet. . ."

A shiny building isn't the only benefit Sustainable Beef offers -- the company has upended some slaughterhouse mainstays to increase its appeal. "The facility’s single daytime shift lets employees attend their children’s sports games after work," the Journal reports. "The company touts ergonomic work stands and individual lockers — even the plentiful toilets are an upgrade from typical meat plants." Pay starts at $22 per hour, which is average for the area.

Even with its upgrades and no third shift, Sustainable Beef faces stiff competition, possible worker shortages and a tight beef market. The company is "taking on the Big Four meatpackers —JBS, Tyson Foods, Cargill and National Beef — that control 85% of the beef industry," according to the article. "Nebraska faces persistent labor shortages, as workers age out or leave. . . . Cattle herd sizes have hit a 75-year low."

Location of North Platte, Neb.
(Wikipedia map)

But the company's investors have a shared goal of giving the industry's "Big Four" a run for their money. The new plant is "the size of 10 football fields, aims to process 1,500 head of cattle daily, with most of the beef going to Walmart, a minority stake investor in the project," the Journal reports. "The plant expects to hire about 850 workers by year’s end, which would make it the city’s third-largest private employer."

Fearing the possibility of crime brought on by immigrant workers, some North Platte residents pushed against the deal, but city leaders planned for predictable changes. Calvert, Campo-Flores and Thomas write, "The city is offering developers incentives to build housing, and up to 2,000 units are in the pipeline. Schools are boosting English as a Second Language instruction. The police department has outfitted officers with portable translation devices."

WSJ's full story includes Sustainable Beef's colorful beginnings in North Platte and details on how this plant is pushing competitors to upgrade their employment offerings.

Trump pauses raids on farms, service businesses, but many sweeps continue

Strawberry pickers in Plant City, FL. (Adobe Stock photo)

Some immigrants who have continued work at farms, restaurants, hotels and meatpacking plants have been swept up during Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, report Ted Hesson and Marisa Taylor of Reuters. A senior Trump official familiar with the situation said President Donald Trump "was not aware of the extent of the enforcement push and 'once it hit him, he pulled it back.'"

"Trump's administration has directed immigration officials to largely pause raids," Hesson and Taylor write. "The order to scale back came from Trump himself … and appears to rein in a late-May demand by top White House aide Stephen Miller for more aggressive sweeps."

Last week's instructions limiting raids "still allows for investigations into serious crimes such as human trafficking," Reuters reports. Democrats called on the White House to pull back on ICE's "aggressive tactics. … Some Republican lawmakers have called on the administration to focus on criminal offenders."

Most American agriculture, including dairy and farm animal care, is supported by migrant workers. Hesson and Taylor add, "U.S. farm industry groups have long wanted Trump to spare their sector from mass deportations, which could upend a food supply chain dependent on immigrants."

The United Farm Workers union remains "skeptical the new directive will help workers without legal status," Reuters reports. "The group said it had calls from members about immigration arrests even after the new directive was issued."

On Friday, UFW issued a stern response to Trump's Thursday order to pause farm raids: "Many companies stayed closed today due to the presence of roving federal agents, especially Border Patrol. … As long as Border Patrol and ICE are allowed to sweep through farm worker communities making chaotic arrests … they are still hunting down farm workers."

Quick hits: The nuttiest ride on the road; be present for your neighbors; Roy the renegade farmer; heirloom seeds

The Nutty Cruiser is sharing joy and almonds as it tours the U.S. (Blue Diamond photo via Atlas Obscura)

You're driving down a lonesome stretch of American highway and there you see one of the wackiest rides ever made. It's Blue Diamond's “Nutty Cruiser” taking a road trip that celebrates everything about almonds. "This spring, a new giant food-shaped vehicle has rolled out of the shop," reports Anne Ewbank for Atlas Obscura. "The Nutty Cruiser, by the way, is a 20-foot-long almond on wheels." The Nutty Cruiser will be rolling down streets on this schedule. While you're at it, here's the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile travel schedule and the The Big Idaho Potato Truck travel plans.

The price of beef keeps climbing and meatpackers are doubling down to make sure nothing gets wasted. "U.S. meat companies are embracing 'white bone' programs, aiming to pick every carcass clean as they move down processing lines," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "America’s cattle supply is at its lowest level since 1951. . . . That has helped push cattle markets in Chicago to a record high in January, almost 20% higher than they were two years ago."

The late Imelda Gorman knew how to show up for
her neighbors. (Photo via Hoptown Chronicle)

One of the best things we can do for each other is to be present during good times and bad. In her Hoptown Chronicle essay, Jennifer P. Brown shares an inspirational glimpse of the late Imelda Gorman, a woman who excelled at the simple act of being there for others. "Imelda’s willingness to show up was the quality that I most admired in her. Over and over, she was present for her friends and for her community in small everyday moments and in big milestone events. . . . . Imelda made many of us feel like we were part of her family. She left us with an important lesson. It’s simple. Show up."

Roy Pfaltzgraff tossed conventional agriculture practices out his tractor window years ago. His non-conformist row crop operation "is set to push even further to the blade’s edge," reports Chris Bennett of Farm Journal. "In 2025, Pfaltzgraff intends to begin installation of a full-time, on-farm education center. Annually, he has six to eight research projects across his operation." Pfaltzgraff told Bennett, "We’re going to build an online community, Seeding Circles, that teaches farmers where and how to find markets and brings buyers to growers. I want to show people a way to recruit food companies and know what’s being asked for.”

Heirloom seeds can bring new joy and richness into any gardener's plot. "Heirloom seeds are fun to grow, but more importantly, these old cultivars play a role in global food security," reports Lisa Prater Foust of Successful Farming. "Seed Savers Exchange, based in Decorah, Iowa, is home to the largest non-government seed bank in the United States. Members and nonmembers of Seed Savers Exchange can participate in a seed swap program, and many varieties are available for purchase online at seedsavers.org."

As winter fades and spring emerges, all of nature begins to change. And while many people welcome the fleeting time when spring blooms all around, all changes come with some degree of tension. In her story for Hoard's Dairyman, Emily Barge reminds us to intentionally look for ways to reduce stress and increase enjoyment in daily life with these five steps:

• Take a breather outdoors and make time for mindful moments.
• Spend a few minutes just talking.
• Find ways to prioritize family time.
• Take a moment to be proud of your hard work.
• Celebrate the small victories.

Report: Chicken plant in West Virginia has recorded a number of serious injuries; immigrants 'shoulder' more risks

Chicken segmentation line (Adobe Stock photo)

Working in any U.S. factory comes with some risk of injury, but immigrant workers at Pilgrim’s Pride’s chicken factory in Moorefield, West Virginia, have faced compounded dangers, according to a report.

"Over the past 30 years, thousands have left their homelands and come to Moorefield to work at West Virginia’s only industrial poultry plant," reports Allen Siegler of Mountain State Spotlight. "Seeking safety and a better life, they’ve often faced unsafe working conditions. . . . Throughout the last decade, Pilgrim’s Moorefield plant has been one of the most dangerous non-coal industrial workplaces in West Virginia."

Large knives, saws and automated equipment make poultry production inherently dangerous. This plant has had a number of documented injuries. "From 2015 to late 2023, 12 factory employees had workplace injuries that led to amputations or overnight hospitalizations, according to data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration," Siegler writes. Debbie Berkowitz, a former OSHA chief of staff, told Siegler, "This is a red flag on safety conditions in the plant."

Federal data doesn't include all injuries. Siegler explains, "In 2022 and 2023, local paramedics responded to calls to the Moorefield factory 138 times — about once every five days — according to the Hardy County Emergency Ambulance Authority. . . . In a state in which 91% of residents are white, a disproportionate amount of the danger is shouldered by the plant’s large immigrant workforce."

Immigrant workers often fear deportation should they speak up about workplace dangers or ask questions about how a job should be done. Others don't speak English, so a job at the Moorefield plant is one of their few options, Siegler reports. 

Despite efforts to get local or corporate Pilgrim's Pride officials to comment, "they didn’t answer a letter with over a dozen questions related to this story," Siegler writes. "A recent lawsuit against major American poultry corporations, including Pilgrim’s Pride, alleged the companies recruited vulnerable immigrant workers to staff some of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. . . . Pilgrim’s denied these allegations and said the workers’ lawyers were selectively pulling unflattering quotes from various reports and people."

In a 'win for American farmers, ranchers and consumers,' the USDA finalizes rules regarding 'Product of U.S.A.' labels

The final rule will help consumers know where their food
comes from. (USDA photo via Michigan Farm News)

Finding meat and poultry produced solely on U.S. farms in today's grocery store is tricky, if not impossible, because of loopholes in the Department of Agriculture's labeling rules. But those rules are set for a long-awaited change, reports Claire Carlson of The Daily Yonder. "Starting in 2026, 'Product of U.S.A.' labels will be allowed only on meat and poultry products made from animals that were 'born, raised, and slaughtered within the United States.' Experts say it will significantly help U.S.-based producers' bottom line."

For years, the biggest meat producers, such as Cargill, J.B.S., Tyson and National Beef, have used labels that could lead consumers to think American farmers produced the meat. Carlson explains, "These corporations produced cheaper products by outsourcing to countries with fewer health and safety regulations for their workers and animals, then labeled the meat as 'Product of U.S.A.,' because they package it within the United States, they said. American producers were unable to compete with these cheap prices or distinguish their American-made products from the outsourced meat products, according to advocacy groups."

Marty Irby, board director for the non-profit research group Organization for Competitive Markets, told Carlson, "[Product of U.S.A. loopholes] enabled [the meat packers] to be able to sell cheap beef to consumers and make people think that they were actually buying an American made product." Carson adds, "Small farmers and ranchers in rural America especially felt the brunt of this. The number of U.S. farmers and ranchers has been in decline in recent years as big corporations merge producers in the meat, poultry, and egg markets . . . . From 2022 to 2023, farm incomes dropped by $41.8 billion, according to USDA data." Joe Maxwell, co-founder of the advocacy group Farm Action and a long-time farmer, told Carlson, "[The regulation] is a huge win for America’s farmers, ranchers, and consumers."

Farming quick hits: Native Americans are regaining access to land; the best wire cutters; two sisters run this sawmill

Landback.org image

Alongside American colonial expansion during the 1800s came the decimation of many Native Americans' lands and food sources. "Native peoples fought off settler and military encroachment of their hunting, fishing, and gathering territories. Their lifeways — and foodways — were hugely altered and restricted," reports Kate Nelson of Civil Eats. "The Land Back movement is helping communities regain access to both food and land. . . . In Montana, for example, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes now oversee 18,000 acres where bison roam once again. In Nebraska, the Ponca people have been growing their sacred corn on farmland signed back to them in 2018."

Farmer Mahoney liked the strong
cuts and comfy grips.

Doug Mahoney raises sheep, cows and pigs and spends a lot of time fixing fences. "This can mean days at a time of snip, snip, snip," Mahoney writes. "I tested 13 pairs of wire cutters for Wirecutter. . . . I used them to make hundreds upon hundreds of cuts through wire, hardware cloth, and even nails. At the time, I chose the Channellock E337CB Diagonal Cutting Pliers as the best. . . .Since then, they have become one of the most important tools I own."

Meatpacking industry concentration increased during the 1980s and 1990s as producers shifted to larger plant operations. The industry's consolidation "raised questions about competition, particularly as it related to prices paid for cattle and hogs," writes James M. MacDonald in his essay for Amber Waves. "With fewer firms competing with one another, would packers be able to reduce the prices they paid to farmers and ranchers compared with a world with more (and smaller) competing firms? On the other hand, those fewer firms also had lower processing costs, which they could pass on to beef and pork consumers."

Sisters Mary Haag, left, and Nancy Kieffer took over
the sawmill 28 years ago. (Photo by Jacob Moyer, LF)

Sisters Mary Haag and Nancy Kieffer have been operating Moyer's Sawmill in Bernville, Pennsylvania, for 28 years. "The pair took it over from their father, Ray Moyer, whose father and uncle started the business around 1903," reports Dan Sullivan of Lancaster Farming. "The sisters set about running the place, eventually with help from their spouses, initially doing their own logging and cutting everything from 1-by-4s to large custom pieces — up to 34 feet (though they don't necessarily like to advertise that) — for timber-frame homes, barn restorations and the like." 

Known as twilight farmers, some agricultural operators lack an heir, leaving them wondering who will manage their land, equipment and animals once they're gone. But farmers can work to settle out agreements before they pass, reports Lisa Foust Prater for Successful Farming. Forming a corporation and a select type of trust is one answer, but planning is the biggest key to keeping the farm operating.

UNMC CS-Cash photo via Farm Progress

ATVs, UTVs and even golf carts can be farmland workhorses. But like all farming machinery, driving vehicles on a busy farm requires extra care around buildings, animals and workers. "In 2023, there were 291 ATV and 27 UTV fatalities in the U.S., with many of these related to work in agriculture," Ellen Duysen of Farm Progress reports. "In 2019, ATV incidents resulted in an estimated 95,000 emergency room visits." To reduce the risk of injury, death and possible liability, read her guidelines here.

Smaller meatpacking businesses struggle to compete with mega processors, USDA grants aren't enough

Greg Gunthorp at his small meat packing operation in
Indiana. (Photo by Chelsi Daley, Investigate Midwest)

Mega meatpackers dominate so much of the market that smaller meat processors are forced to seek contracts and business beyond grocery stores. "Even with $1 billion in federal grants available to them, many still struggle to compete" with slaughterhouse giants Tyson Foods, JBS, Smithfield and Marfrig, reports John McCracken of Investigate Midwest. "The Biden administration has tried to address the concentration, including offering grants to help small processors expand. But it's not enough for many small processors that face proportionately higher operating expenses than the industry giants, according to interviews with small processors and experts."

Greg Gunthorp operates a small meat processing plant in northern Indiana. Over the past 20 years, he has sold niche meats "to chic Chicago and Indianapolis restaurants and to Chicago O'Hare International Airport. He also sold direct to consumers," McCracken reports. "But selling in grocery stores was not an option, as the largest meatpackers often have those contracts. In his circumstances, he found it difficult to compete in the chicken industry, and he recently stopped raising and slaughtering the bird." He told McCracken, "In an extremely concentrated marketplace, it's difficult for a small processor — especially a plant that slaughters — to find a sweet spot somewhere to fit long term."

"When asked about the problems small processors identified, the Department of Agriculture responded that the $1 billion in grants it's invested in expanding small processors 'is a historic investment that will directly combat consolidation in the meat processing sector and help build resiliency in the face of market disruptions,'" McCracken writes. "Just 12 federally inspected plants produced slightly less than half of the country's beef supply in 2022, according to Investigate Midwest's analysis of USDA data. The same year, 14 plants produced about 60% of the nation's pork."

Giant meatpacking companies save money through scale, owning their animals and "contracts with retailers, ensuring their product ends up at grocery stores," McCracken reports. Bill Bullard, the CEO of R-CALF USA, which advocates for independent cattle producers, told McCracken, "They've exceeded any efficiencies associated with economies of scale and are now engaged in controlling the marketplace."

"The funding is a promising sign in addressing the industry's concentration, said Peter Carstensen, a professor of law emeritus at the University of Wisconsin and an antitrust law expert," McCracken writes. "But the administration should also be using its antitrust enforcement capabilities more than it is, he said."

Smithfield Foods, which has been owned by a Chinese company since 2013, might be listed on stock market again

WH pork plant in China. Sales from U.S. and Mexico made up
56% of its 2022 revenue. (Photo by Dominique Patton, Reuters)

Roughly a decade since its purchase, Smithfield Foods may go public again. Its Chinese parent company, WH Group, is working with banks to "list its shares as early as next year, according to people familiar with the matter. Deliberations are ongoing, and the timing could change," report David Sebastian, Patrick Thomas and Ben Dummett of The Wall Street Journal.

In 2013, WH purchased Smithfield for $4.7 billion, which was "one of the biggest takeovers of an American business by a Chinese company at the time and resulted in the delisting of Smithfield, which used to trade on the New York Stock Exchange," the Journal reports. "The combined company became the world's largest hog farmer and pork producer." WH Group said the Smithfield acquisition was "partly aimed at importing technology and expertise from Smithfield to improve WH's operations, especially in China."

A U.S. listing could help bolster the sector, which has been working to balance an "oversupply of pork from flat demand domestically and an industrywide drop in exports," the Journal reports. WH Group isn't the only company reviving plans for a public offering. "Brazil's JBS said during the summer that it plans to restart its yearslong effort to list its shares publicly in the U.S. JBS is the world's largest meatpacker and has a sizable U.S. pork business that competes with Smithfield."

GH's sales are spread throughout China, the United States, Mexico and some European markets; however, sales in the U.S. and Mexico "contributed 56% of the company's revenue in 2022, while its China business made up 34%," the Journal reports. "It employed about 104,000 employees globally at the end of last year, including roughly 40,000 in the U.S. and Mexico."

Rural towns facing meat plant closures struggle to find a new path forward

Noel officials hope that recreation options can fill some
economic losses. (Photo by Harlan Bozeman,WSJ)

Over the next few months, six rural counties will face Tyson chicken plant closures, with residents, small-business owners and county officials facing tough choices," reports Patrick Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. Tyson is one of many companies shrinking its operations. "Meat processors are closing plants across the country in response to what they say is slackening consumer demand and persistently high costs for livestock, feed and wages."

The Tyson plant in Noel, Missouri, pop. 2,220, will close this month. While many employees have already quit and left town, small-business owners like Angel Saldivar are also considering leaving. "Saldivar​ wasn't among the 1,500 Tyson workers affected by the plant's shutdown," Thomas writes. "He and his family run a restaurant across the street, Tony's Burritos, which his grandmother opened in the 1990s as a lunch spot for plant employees. With the plant scheduled to close by mid-October, Saldivar says Tony's probably will, too. . . . Tony's sales have fallen 40% to 50% from August."

Noel is one of several towns facing plant closure fallouts. "Poultry company Perdue Farms said in August it was closing a meat plant in Michigan that employs 130 people, and pork giant Smithfield Foods closed a 1,800-person California facility this year," Thomas explains. "The closures spell economic turbulence for towns such as Noel, where meatpacking plants are major employers, customers of local farmers and truckers, and cornerstones of the tax base."

It can take years for a rural town's economy to rebound from a plant closure, and some do not recover. "In Plainview, Texas, agriculture giant Cargill a decade ago closed a beef plant, the town's largest employer with more than 2,000 workers," Thomas reports. "Charles Starnes, Plainview's mayor, said restaurants and other businesses around the plant laid off staff or closed completely, leading to about 3,000 total jobs lost in Plainview. The city's population has declined by about 2,000 people since the year the plant closed, he said."

In some areas, a plant's closure could open the door for new opportunities. Thomas writes, "For Noel, local officials said that without the plant's noxious smells, the city's location on the Elk River in southwest Missouri could make it a more popular tourist destination and attract outdoor activities such as kayaking. Lance said the site could attract a new hotel or a casino."

Homeland Security takes a deeper look at possible human trafficking of under-age workers to slaughterhouses

A child cleans a slaughterhouse for PSSI; the subject
was blurred by the source. (Department of Labor photo)

"Last month, the Labor Department found that Packers Sanitation Services Inc. . . . employed 102 children at 13 slaughterhouses across eight states," reports Julia Ainsley and Laura Strickler of NBC News. Now, "The Department of Homeland Security has widened its investigation into migrant children found cleaning slaughterhouses and is now working with the Justice Department to examine whether a human smuggling scheme brought migrant children to work in multiple slaughterhouses for multiple companies across multiple states, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the investigation."

The investigation is looking into "how Central American children, some as young as 13, wound up working dangerous jobs that are legal only for American adults by presenting identification stolen from U.S. citizens," NBC reports. "So far the investigation is focused on smugglers who may have provided the children with false identities and possibly led them to dangerous jobs. The companies themselves are not targets of the investigation, the officials said."

A former Packers Sanitation Services manager, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told NBC, "In this industry you have a lot of people who are undocumented workers. A lot of times it’s because they’re not going to pay well enough to hire people in America who want to do it." NBC reports, "The former manager confirmed that the company uses the federal government’s E-Verify program, but said that while some employees presenting false documents were turned away, it was common for workers who presented obviously false IDs to get hired as long as the documents stated they were legal and of age."

Packers Sanitation spokesperson Gina Swenson disputed the former manager, saying, "This is categorically false — period. We have been crystal clear that we do not want a single person under the age of 18 working for the company. We have trained and retrained our hiring employees on how to actively spot identity theft — as part of our extensive efforts to enforce this absolute prohibition against employing anyone under the age of 18."

Slaughterhouse-cleaning firm paid $1.5 million in fines after feds found minors using chemicals to clean equipment

Department of Labor map

In the fall of 2022, the Labor Department got an injunction from a federal judge in Nebraska requiring Packer Sanitation Services Inc. to stop 'employing oppressive child labor' and to comply with the department's investigation of the firm.

The department has now ended its inquiry saying it found "102 children as young as 13 working hazardous overnight jobs cleaning slaughterhouses in eight states in what it called a 'corporate-wide failure” by one of the largest food sanitation companies in the country," report Laura Strickler and Julia Ainsley of NBC News. "The Labor Department says the children who were working overnight shifts used 'caustic chemicals to clean razor-sharp saws."

Michael Lazzeri, regional administrator for the division in Chicago, told NBC, “Our investigation found Packers Sanitation Services’ systems flagged some young workers as minors, but the company ignored the flags. When the Wage and Hour Division arrived with warrants, the adults — who had recruited, hired and supervised these children — tried to derail our efforts to investigate their employment practices.”     

PSSI has paid a $1.5 million fine for the violations, "dictated by the Fair Labor Standards Act, which allows a penalty of $15,138 for each minor who was employed in violation of the law, according to the Labor Department," NBC explains. "Advocates and lawyers for the children say some of the child workers for PSSI were unaccompanied minors who recently came across the southern border. . . . The company signed a consent decree in December with the Labor Department and agreed to abide by child labor laws after federal investigators documented 50 children working at slaughterhouses for it."

The company issued a statement: "We are pleased to have finalized this settlement figure as part of our previously announced December resolution with the DOL that ends their inquiry. We have been crystal clear from the start: Our company has a zero-tolerance policy against employing anyone under the age of 18 and fully shares the DOL’s objective of ensuring full compliance at all locations."

The company is based in Kieler, Wiscomsin, and contracts with at least 700 facilities and employee over 17,000 people nationwide, its website says.

Winner, winner, winner, accidental chicken for dinner: How a minor error started America's large-scale poultry industry

Ike Long, a farmer; Cecile Steele’s children, and Cecile Steele.
(Photo from National Archives and Records Administration)

The Popsicle, chocolate-chip cookies and raising chickens for meat all started with accidents. In the case of chicken, a shipping error launched a 30-billion dollar industry, writes Kenny Torrella for Vox. "The story begins in 1923, with homemaker and farmer Cecile Steele of Ocean View, Delaware. Steele kept a small flock of chickens that she raised for eggs and waited to slaughter them for meat once their productivity waned. . . . But one day by accident the local chick hatchery delivered 500 birds. . . . Returns weren’t really an option, so she kept them anyway in a barn the size of a studio apartment — 256 square feet — that was heated by a coal stove.  . . . She still made a sizable profit off the 2-pound survivors — almost $11 per pound in today’s dollars — and began to ramp up her operations."

Steele's success allowed "her husband to quit his job to help Cecile expand, and within three years, they were raising 10,000 chickens. Word of the Steele family’s success spread, and by 1928 there were hundreds of farmers in the area raising chickens primarily for their meat," Torrella writes. "And the hatchery accident occurred during the Roaring ’20s, a decade of immense economic growth in the United States. . . . The Delmarva Peninsula, where Steele’s farm was located, was also the perfect place for large-scale chicken farming to take off. There was cheap, abundant land a relatively short distance from the hungry consumers of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City."

Torrella continues: "Steele’s accident set off the chicken revolution as we know it. In the first half of the 20th century, chicken accounted for well under 20 percent of meat consumption in the U.S. Today, it’s about 44 percent. . . . Today grocery stores charge $4 to $10 a pound for beef and pork, while chicken can cost as little as $1.80 a pound. Bacon and steak may take center stage for meat lovers, but when it comes to what’s for dinner, the answer is more often poultry."

The industry's beginnings were a serendipitous "mix of coincidence and ambition. Steele set off a race to put chicken at the center of the American plate, changing the face of agriculture forever," Torrella writes. But for all its popularity, not all the results have been positive. Torella adds, "In the process, we bent the chicken to our will, pushing the species to its biological limits, polluting waterways and our lungs along the way, all to supply a growing population with cheap protein."