Broken Food Supply Chain Has Some Consumers Buying Their Own Pigs
- Farmers are mitigating losses by going direct to consumers
- ‘There’s still an after-shock, but we’re adjusting better’
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Broken supply chains have left farmers across the globe with mounds of food waste. Facing the prospect of plowing over fields and euthanizing pigs, some of these farmers -- like Clint and Shelly Pinkelman -- are mitigating their losses by going straight to consumers.
When coronavirus outbreaks forced shutdowns at Smithfield Foods Inc., Shelly sprung into action. She secured sales for their small Nebraskan farm through a grapevine of friends and family and booked spots at meat processors that can handle individual animals. About 300 of the 600 hogs that were ready for market have been sold, Clint said, and many of them fetched above-market prices.