Current Cattle Markets Daily Headlines for Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Mackenzie Johnston

4 years ago

Maxwell Foods shutting down hog operation

Maxwell Foods located in Goldsboro, NC will be permanently closing its hog operations in 2021.
- According to Pork Powerhouses report in 2019, the company ranked #22 with 54,000 sows.
Low prices paid for pork, coupled with the affects of the Covid-19 pandemic have made for an unbearable financial situation.
The company will be shuttering operations in a phased approach, ending in mid-2021.
Current grower contracts will be honored. The company has about 150 contract farms in its system.
The North Carolina Pork Council is deeply saddened that the continual poor economic conditions have caused Maxwell Foods to cease their hog operations. “Maxwell Foods and its network of family farmers have been an important and vital part of eastern North Carolina communities and their economic stability,” said the NC Pork Council.

NCBA has adopted new policy in support of U.S. CattleTrace and its mission of advancing disease traceability in the U.S. cattle industry.
The policy resolution calls for NCBA to support the expansion of U.S. CattleTrace and directs the organization to encourage and help facilitate state affiliate support and educational efforts.
Animal disease traceability has been a priority in the U.S. cattle industry for years; it has been included in the Beef Industry Long Range Plan multiple years. The most recent plan supports aggressive animal disease traceability growth and expansion targets.

Grain bins among many other structures were damaged by a widespread thunderstorm, derecho, which moved across the Midwest on Monday.
As the storm moved east across Nebraska into Iowa, then Illinois into Wisconsin, it picked up speed and destructive power.
Wind speeds of 70 mph were recorded in Nebraska on Monday morning. Through Iowa wind speeds reached up to 99 mph, and finally exceeded 100 mph once it reached a large swath of Illinois and Wisconsin by midafternoon.
Damage assessments will become more clear as the week goes on. Countless grain bins on farms and at local elevators suffered extensive damage as many were empty, or close to it, as they were getting ready for an expected large corn crop at harvest.