In late April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that forced meat packing and supply plants that had shut down due to COVID-19 to reopen. The facilities initially closed after several plants around the nation became hot spots for outbreaks.
Around the same time as Trump’s order, COVID-19 outbreaks in Brown County were linked back to a local meat processing plant.
Now, three months into the pandemic, the nation’s meat supply chain is still reconciling with how to function in a pandemic.
Earlier today, WORT Producer Jonah Chester spoke with University of Wisconsin researcher Andrew Stephens to discuss how the industry is continuing to cope as the country reopens. Stephens is an assistant professor of agricultural and applied economics, and specializes in meat supply chains.