The Fed’s Beige Book report was replete with notations of pandemic-related impacts in a host of sectors. Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City and Dallas Fed banks focused their ag recaps on the livestock sector impacts from meat plans being closed or running at reduced capacity.
“With no place to deliver market-ready animals, farmers were forced to slow herd growth (including by euthanizing hogs),” the Chicago Fed noted. “On net, the supply disruptions led to higher prices and shortages of meat at grocery stores and restaurants, but lower prices for cattle and hogs.”
The Kansas City Fed pointed out, “roughly a quarter of U.S. meatpacking and food processing plants with confirmed COVID-19 cases were located in the District.”
In terms of overall ag conditions, the Chicago recap included an observation that “Farmers anticipated government programs would help during the downturn, but observers expected some distressed farms to be forced to liquidate.”
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