With the rapid spread of the new coronavirus believed to have started in bats, some people might be genuinely concerned about their farm animals. Could the animals catch COVID-19?

The answer is murky.

While there have been no reported cases of pigs, horses, sheep, chickens, or cows getting COVID-19, their susceptibility to the respiratory disease has yet to be studied.

And though some pigs have been able to get COVID-19 in lab studies, it does not appear that they can catch or spread the virus very easily, said Scott Kenney, an assistant professor of veterinary preventive medicine at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).

“There are a lot of unknowns,” Kenney said.

What is known is that ferrets, minks, domestic cats, and some dogs have become infected with COVID-19. But neither pets nor farm animals are thought to play significant roles in transmitting COVID-19.

Kenney, whose research focuses on viruses that spread from animals to people, is pursuing grants with colleagues to study whether various farm animals are susceptible to COVID-19. He will address the risk of animals catching or spreading COVID-19 during “Ask the Expert” presentations Sept. 22–24 at this year’s Farm Science Review, an all-virtual show sponsored by CFAES.

Kenney’s talks will be from 11:40 a.m. to noon on Sept. 22 and from 1:20 to 1:40 p.m. on both Sept. 23 and Sept. 24 at fsr.osu.edu.

For the first time in its nearly 60-year history, FSR will be exclusively virtual with livestreaming and prerecorded talks and demonstrations about the latest in research and farm technology. The show is free, but “visitors” must register before they can access all of the presentations.

The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is but one of many viruses in recent years that started in animals, then mutated and adapted so that it could spread to people. Viruses, in general, have been increasingly shifting from animals to people, particularly in the developing world, as people cultivate more and more acres that were once isolated forests and come into contact with wildlife.

While people are currently far more likely to catch COVID-19 from other people—rather than from their farm animals or pets—it’s still important for farm workers to wear masks at work, Kenney said.

And if they are sick, farmers would do best to avoid being around their animals and have someone else work with them instead, if at all possible, he said.

“Instead of thinking, ‘Oh, my animals can’t catch my cold,’ it’s important to consider that these animals could breathe in your virus. It only takes a couple of mutations for these viruses to switch to another species,” Kenney said.

As a farmer moves from one building to another on a farm, washing off boots and using a hand sanitizer before leaving each building would help cut the risk of spreading illnesses, Kenney said.

“More frequent washing means they are less likely to carry germs from one pen to the next or home with them.”

To register or find out more about the offerings at this year’s Farm Science Review, visit fsr.osu.edu.

Over the last decade the demand for locally raised meats have steadily increased and that demand has skyrocketed as of late, due to the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on animal agriculture and the meat packing sector. With the significant increase of demand in local product we have also seen an increase in the number of producers entering the world of direct marketing. Perhaps the toughest aspect of direct marketing is determining how to set a price. In this article I am going to address that very subject and answer the question: What should I charge for a freezer beef?

There are a couple of ways that we could go about calculating a price but at the end of the day we must know two things: 1) your breakeven price; 2) how much money (profit) you want to make.

To determine a breakeven price, one must know their cost of production. Below are potential factors that should be considered as production expenses on a per head basis.

Whole, Half, and Quarter Beef

Cost of Animal – If the animal was purchased, what did it cost? If home raised, what did it cost to keep a cow for a year?
+ Feed – Value or cost of feedstuffs and mineral that were either produced and purchased.
+ Veterinary – Any vaccinations, dewormer, other medications, veterinary bills.
+ Bedding and Supplies
+ Transport – Fuel, wear and tear on truck and trailer.
+ Advertising – Cost of acquiring a customer.
+ Value of Your Time – Value of time invested on average per head.
= Breakeven cost per head

Once you have calculated a breakeven cost add you desired profit per head and divide that total by the hanging carcass weight to determine a price per pound.

(Breakeven + Profit) / Carcass weight = price per pound.

Profit margin can be flat rate per head or a percentage of the cost of production. Determine a margin that suits your enterprise and your customer.

Often, the customer will want an idea of what the final price per pound is going to be before the animal is harvested in order to make purchasing and storage decisions. Carcass weight can be estimated prior to harvest by estimating dressing percentage. Dressing percentage = (Carcass Weight/Live Weight) *100.

For grain fed, non-dairy type, steers and heifers the average dressing percentage is around 62% and closer to 59% for a dairy steer. Dressing percentage can vary depending on gut fill, muscling, fatness and cleanliness of the hide.

Individual Beef Cuts

Continue reading The Basics of Pricing Freezer Beef →

The COVID-19 pandemic has led farmers to some excruciating decisions to cut their losses, including euthanizing animals.

There’s a financial toll, for sure, but an emotional one as well.

“They’re cringing,” said Lyda Garcia, an assistant professor of meat science with The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). “It really hurts to have to do that.”

With meat processing plants partially or fully closed or backed up with orders, some Ohio farmers who raise pigs and chickens for slaughter are reluctantly turning to reducing their flocks or herds.

It’s not a decision they want to make, nor a decision they ever expected to make.

This is happening amid other hurdles. Commodity prices continue to sink, and just last year, many Midwest farmers could not plant corn or soybeans because of unprecedented rainfall. For some farmers, knowing options to stay financially sound is as important as knowing how to get help for anxiety and emotional slumps.

“The way we explain it is that taking care of yourself, including your mental health, is like changing the oil on your tractor,” said Sarah Noggle, an educator with CFAES’ Ohio State University Extension outreach arm in Paulding County. “If you don’t do it routinely, things become unbalanced.”

And there are many reasons for imbalances now.

In the meat industry, COVID-19 has led to a logjam. Though livestock raised on the farm is ready for market, many meat processors are unable to accept it—at least not at the same pace they had been before the coronavirus arrived in the United States. The pandemic has led to a lot of sickness and time off work at processing plants, and though the nation’s major plants are opening up, shifts are limited.

Ohio has about 400 smaller meat and poultry processing plants, but most have a backlog of orders, some of which are typically funneled to the nation’s largest plants out of state, Garcia said. About 25% of Ohio’s pigs are processed out of state, and trying to find an Ohio meat processor to take them is challenging.

Farmers in Ohio have been forced to euthanize some pigs and chickens primarily because the animals can’t be held on the farm long after they reach market weight without declining seriously in value or losing value entirely, Garcia said.

“The farmers are really upset because this is what they devote their lives to,” Garcia said. “It’s happening frequently enough that many of us are gathering resources for farmers on mental health. This is serious.”

Keeping pigs and chickens on a farm for longer times means they’ll weigh more when they’re sold. But sometimes a processor won’t buy an animal if it’s too large, or the processor will pay the farmer a lot less for the animal because the additional fat could mean it sells for less.

Typically, cattle can be kept a bit longer on the farm after they reach market size and still be OK for sale. But if a cattle producer has to seek out a smaller processor instead of a major one, they often earn less for that meat, Garcia said.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about losing money,” she said.

Most often, farmers with hogs and chickens are eliminating the youngest or unborn in their flocks or herds, rather than the fully grown animals that they’ve already invested in.

Farmers can’t easily donate their livestock to a food bank because it has to be taken to a meat processor, and the processors are backed up with orders for the next six months to a year, Garcia said.

“The farmers have plenty of animals, but nowhere to take them.”

For information on mental health resources, visit u.osu.edu/cphp/ohio-mental-health-resource-guides and u.osu.edu/2019farmassistance/home/.