Giving praise to how the pork industry adapted to COVID-19, a Wisconsin pork producer and a meat processor explained how the pandemic continues to impact their businesses.



Shannon Wolf is a pork producer from Grant County. He, his wife Melissa, and his mother, Kris Wolf, own and operate Wolf L&G Farms. The 1,200 sow farrow to finish hog operation typically sells 25,000 market hogs a year.



Wolf said he saw some potential flags when packers started having issues with labor in processing plants.



"They always had a tight labor supply, but it seemed more people were staying home," Wolf said.



They typically sold their hogs to Tyson Foods in Waterloo, but instead of the plant taking 100 percent of their hogs, that number dropped to 85 percent.



"Then the week of April 20 is kind of when the wheels fell off and the Waterloo plant that we delivery to actually shut down," Wolf said. "The pork industry is just-in-time production, so then you're scrambling trying to figure out where to put these hogs because new ones are being born."



Wolf said it allowed the industry to get creative. He reached out to the Wisconsin Pork Association, and WPA quickly turned concern into action with its Passion for Pork program with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The collaboration connects local pork producers to area meat processors to put pork in food banks and pantries to help fight hunger during the pandemic.



Additionally, social media became another unexpected solution for the Wolf family.



"We put on Facebook that we have pigs to get rid of, and the response was unreal," Wolf said. "The number of people that called to get pigs help out greatly, so we were able to get through this situation without having to euthanize anything, and we stayed current as far as our production."



He said many who bought pigs to butcher themselves in the spring planned to buy additional hogs in the fall.



Further down the line in the food supply chain, Marc Malterer owns Cedar Road Meats in Iron Ridge, Wis. He bought the business from his parents in 2014. Since taking over the family business, Cedar Road Meats obtained 2016 CIS approval, which allowed the business to grow by working directly with customers requiring USDA approval. They work with local producers and grocery stores in the Madison and Milwaukee area.



"In April, our inspector reached out and asked if we had any capacity to take on hogs," Malterer said. "There was a flood of hogs in the industry due to large facilities shutting down."



That's how he was introduced to Passion for Pork and became part of a weekly contract to process hogs for food banks and pantries. Things have not slowed down at Cedar Road Meats since the peak of the pork issue this spring.



"We basically doubled our business in the last six months," Malterer said. "We are scheduled out 18 months in advance for custom processing where typically it was three months. We're seeing local farmers selling a lot more to their customers, which means there's more demand for them to get into facilities like my own."



He said the extra business has been good for Cedar Road Meats, but it also created a strain on the operation as they needed more staff to do the work. When there was a shortage of meat in the grocery stores, they saw a huge demand for their in-house offerings.



"My walk-up business doubled, and it hasn't gone down since March," Malterer said. "That would be great if it continued, but I don't know if it will."



Although the increase of business looks good on the surface, Malterer said he does not know how to budget and plan for the future. He's booked from the custom processing standpoint, but it is difficult to determine if the trends he is noticing now with walk-in, retail, or even wholesale business will continue.



"We're seeing a lot more local business than we traditionally have, and we are out in the country," he said. "We're seeing a good amount of traffic on the weekends. People are coming to shop and to buy local."



Malterer added he did not plan to expand, but the pandemic pushed his hand, and they were forced to add onto Cedar Road Meats.



"I don't plan to expand next year, but if the demand is there, I'm not sure which way we're going to go because we're at about capacity now for what we can handle," Malterer said.



Although the pandemic continues, Wolf and Malterer both said they were impressed with steps taking by the pork industry to control the COVID-19 curveballs.



"It was remarkable to get that much work done and to have the leadership to get everything going," Wolf said. "From the time I made that call to Passion for Pork being started, it was days. By far, it didn't take all of our pigs, but it did take quite a few of them."



Malterer said he was grateful for the relationships created through the program.



"I appreciate the partnership that we have and some of the things that we've been able to do this year we were not able to do in the past," he said. "Unfortunately, this was driven by COVID, but I think it was great that these areas were able to come together in a short amount of time and come up with a plan for the Passion for Pork program and work to not only assist the farmers in need but also the people that needed food."

Giving praise to how the pork industry adapted to COVID-19, a Wisconsin pork producer and a meat processor explained how the pandemic continues to impact their businesses.
 
Shannon Wolf is a pork producer from Grant County. He, his wife Melissa, and his mother, Kris Wolf, own and operate Wolf L&amp;G Farms. The 1,200 sow farrow to finish hog operation typically sells 25,000 market hogs a year.
 
Wolf said he saw some potential flags when packers started having issues with labor in processing plants.
 
"They always had a tight labor supply, but it seemed more people were staying home," Wolf said.
 
They typically sold their hogs to Tyson Foods in Waterloo, but instead of the plant taking 100 percent of their hogs, that number dropped to 85 percent.
 
"Then the week of April 20 is kind of when the wheels fell off and the Waterloo plant that we delivery to actually shut down," Wolf said. "The pork industry is just-in-time production, so then you're scrambling trying to figure out where to put these hogs because new ones are being born."
 
Wolf said it allowed the industry to get creative. He reached out to the Wisconsin Pork Association, and WPA quickly turned concern into action with its <a href="https://www.midwestfarmreport.com/2020/05/03/program-connects-pork-producers-to-local-meat-processors-consumers/">Passion for Pork</a> program with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The collaboration connects local pork producers to area meat processors to put pork in food banks and pantries to help fight hunger during the pandemic.
 
Additionally, social media became another unexpected solution for the Wolf family.
 
"We put on Facebook that we have pigs to get rid of, and the response was unreal," Wolf said. "The number of people that called to get pigs help out greatly, so we were able to get through this situation without having to euthanize anything, and we stayed current as far as our production."
 
He said many who bought pigs to butcher themselves in the spring planned to buy additional hogs in the fall.
 
Further down the line in the food supply chain, Marc Malterer owns Cedar Road Meats in Iron Ridge, Wis. He bought the business from his parents in 2014. Since taking over the family business, Cedar Road Meats obtained 2016 CIS approval, which allowed the business to grow by working directly with customers requiring USDA approval. They work with local producers and grocery stores in the Madison and Milwaukee area.
 
"In April, our inspector reached out and asked if we had any capacity to take on hogs," Malterer said. "There was a flood of hogs in the industry due to large facilities shutting down."
 
That's how he was introduced to Passion for Pork and became part of a weekly contract to process hogs for food banks and pantries. Things have not slowed down at Cedar Road Meats since the peak of the pork issue this spring.
 
"We basically doubled our business in the last six months," Malterer said. "We are scheduled out 18 months in advance for custom processing where typically it was three months. We're seeing local farmers selling a lot more to their customers, which means there's more demand for them to get into facilities like my own."
 
He said the extra business has been good for Cedar Road Meats, but it also created a strain on the operation as they needed more staff to do the work. When there was a shortage of meat in the grocery stores, they saw a huge demand for their in-house offerings.
 
"My walk-up business doubled, and it hasn't gone down since March," Malterer said. "That would be great if it continued, but I don't know if it will."
 
Although the increase of business looks good on the surface, Malterer said he does not know how to budget and plan for the future. He's booked from the custom processing standpoint, but it is difficult to determine if the trends he is noticing now with walk-in, retail, or even wholesale business will continue.
 
"We're seeing a lot more local business than we traditionally have, and we are out in the country," he said. "We're seeing a good amount of traffic on the weekends. People are coming to shop and to buy local."
 
Malterer added he did not plan to expand, but the pandemic pushed his hand, and they were forced to add onto Cedar Road Meats.
 
"I don't plan to expand next year, but if the demand is there, I'm not sure which way we're going to go because we're at about capacity now for what we can handle," Malterer said.
 
Although the pandemic continues, Wolf and Malterer both said they were impressed with steps taking by the pork industry to control the COVID-19 curveballs.
 
"It was remarkable to get that much work done and to have the leadership to get everything going," Wolf said. "From the time I made that call to Passion for Pork being started, it was days. By far, it didn't take all of our pigs, but it did take quite a few of them."
 
Malterer said he was grateful for the relationships created through the program.
 
"I appreciate the partnership that we have and some of the things that we've been able to do this year we were not able to do in the past," he said. "Unfortunately, this was driven by COVID, but I think it was great that these areas were able to come together in a short amount of time and come up with a plan for the Passion for Pork program and work to not only assist the farmers in need but also the people that needed food."

Join Pam Jahnke for the latest farm news. Heard daily on WOZN 96.7 FM and 1670 AM in Madison Wisconsin from 5-6am. Also heard on affiliate stations all over Wisconsin.

Join Pam Jahnke for the latest farm news. Heard daily on WOZN 96.7 FM and 1670 AM in Madison Wisconsin from 5-6am. Also heard on affiliate stations all over Wisconsin.

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