Every person and every business was presented challenges they had never faced before. Nonetheless, the turkey industry’s response to the challenges it has faced during the past several months has been remarkable.

COVID-19 has been brutal on the industry. We have seen major producers temporarily shut down, entire segments put out of business, regional disruptions and politicians getting involved in the manufacture and distribution of meat and poultry. I am not telling you anything you don’t know; we have all lived it.

Many meat and poultry processors, trimming and deboning equipment manufacturers and universities continue to pursue automation and robotics for the trimming and deboning process. 

When a look ahead was taken a year ago at this time, the discussion focused on the pending game-changer. That is, when and how much will the China market reopen for U.S. chicken?

Demand drivers. Even without a worldwide pandemic, economic shutdowns and disruptions in food processing, Dan Basse would have covered demand drivers at the 15th annual Feeding Quality Forum.

This year has been a year of unprecedented challenge for the beef industry as we all adapted to navigate a changed world amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Because of COVID-19, 2020 is the ultimate anomaly. Millions of Americans are working from home or sequestered at home. The marketplace disruption caused by COVID-19 spells uncertainty for the year’s most anticipated food and beverage trends.

Margins in the food industry have always been thin. This is because retailers and other customers are continuously pushing food manufacturers and suppliers to lower costs.

Shocks to the beef industry were all part of 2020’s "unprecedented" theme, but how the market responded was less surprising. There was nothing for it but to make new plans and keep going said a RaboResearch analyst.

While many meat and poultry processors have long used fat analysis systems to measure leanness levels, evolving technologies are making it simpler for the operators to perform readings.