COVID-19 vaccine offers optimism for plant operators

Matthew Busardo, poultry market reporter for Urner Barry, says there is a sense of optimism among poultry plant managers that as more people receive the COVID-19 vaccine, that staffing shortages and questions about whether they can run at full capacity will be greatly reduced.

Roy Graber Headshot
A Foster Farms employee is among the first California agricultural workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. (Foster Farms)
A Foster Farms employee is among the first California agricultural workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. (Foster Farms)

Matthew Busardo, poultry market reporter for Urner Barry, says there is a sense of optimism among U.S. poultry plant managers that as more people receive the COVID-19 vaccine, that staffing shortages and questions about whether they can run at full capacity will be greatly reduced.

Personnel issues were the topic of much of the conversation during the Urner Barry Poultry Industry Insights Webinar, held on February 25.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to worker absenteeism and in some cases, temporary plant shutdowns. To this date, there are still issues with COVID-related absences. Those disruptions, combined with recent weather-related plant pauses in the southern United States, have slowed down the supply.

“Keeping up with demand is front and center” for poultry processors, said Busardo.

With the COVID-19 vaccine now becoming more available, there are still some challenges, such as making sure plant workers get the priority status to get the vaccines that are still in relatively short supply.

But as more people get the vaccine, there will be a greater confidence among poultry company managers that they will have the workers needed to keep the plants running at capacity.

“Going forward, I believe a lot of them are optimistic that it’s going to be something that’s very manageable,” said Busardo. “I don’t think anyone feels like it’s going to be going away to the point that there’s going to be zero cases, or anything like that. It’s obviously something that’s going to be around for a while, but if they can get to where it’s manageable, where they know what shifts will look lie on a day-to-day basis (that will improve their confidence).

“Just getting to a point where you can have an actual view of what your week is going to look like, that’s going to have a tremendous impact for everyone across the spectrum.”

Pilgrim’s Pride, the second largest poultry company in the United States, had previously expressed confidence that the vaccine will improve its staffing situation. The company, along with sister company JBS USA, offered a $100 bonus to all U.S. workers who voluntarily choose to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Speaking during a quarterly earnings call on February 11, Pilgrim’s Pride CEO Fabio Sandri said: “We saw in November and December as a consequence of the increase in number of cases in the United States, that the plants (were) starting to have more staffing issues. … We are seeing a reduction (in COVID-19 cases among workers) and we expect all of our plants to be fully staffed during Q2.”

Pilgrim’s first quarter will conclude near the end of March.

Joe F. Sanderson Jr., CEO of Sanderson Farms, the third largest poultry company in the United States, in November 2020 expressed gladness that the vaccine was going to be more available to protect poultry workers, but he did have concerns about the vaccine’s distribution and application, as well as people’s willingness to get vaccinated. Sanderson disclosed on a quarterly earnings call on February 25 that he has been vaccinated himself.

Page 1 of 33
Next Page