Posted on 12/11/2021 5:27:56 AM PST by Sir_Humphrey
Prices for prime cuts of meat are up by as much as 25% with farmers and consumers taking the hit.
Tom Eikman, owner of Eikman’s Processing in Seward, Illinois, a small-sized, third-generation meat processor, said that a shortage of skilled meat handlers and rising costs are plaguing the industry.
“We need those individuals that can take a front quarter of a beef and can break that down into ribeyes and chuck roasts and ground beef. We’ve been constantly trying to find that labor source and striking out,” Eikman said.
Eikman has a theory that many of the longtime guys who did the skilled meat processing jobs retired early because of the pandemic. Workers make $18 an hour at Amazon. Some are not keen on standing on their feet in icy facilities, lifting 70-pound meat carcasses for less money.
(Excerpt) Read more at justthenews.com ...
“We’ve been constantly trying to find that labor source and striking out”
Oh PLEASE, it can’t be that hard, considering that Biden has opened to floodgates to all who want to come here.
There was an old joke that raised that point:
Guy calls for a plumber to fix a leaky faucet. Plumber shows up, says you just need a washer replaced, does it in 20 minutes and gives him a bill for $100. Homeowner says, wow, that seems like a lot for 20 minutes of work. I am a doctor and I don’t charge that for a half hour examination (remember this was old joke). Plumber looks at him and says yeah, that is about what I charged when I was a doctor.
Pretty sure I don’t want some unskilled Haitian illegal cutting my steaks......eeww
Pretty sure I don’t want some unskilled Haitian illegal cutting my steaks......eeww
I think the tone here is that skilled meat handlers are hard to find because they all went off to work in Amazon warehouses where the pay is better and the working conditions are more tolerable.
Hard to believe that’s true. And, if it is true, the fix is pretty obvious.
Butchery is a genuine skill. It’s not some minimum wage thing — “Here’s a cleaver, start hacking away at that carcass and do the best you can.” These are, in fact, skilled workers who know how to handle a knife and know health regulations. You need to pay for that.
Sorry for the double post
Fair point...but you’ll never know it though.
Almost enough to make you turn vegetarian.....almost
The skilled meatcutters were long ago replaced by illegals, because international unions and giant multinational corporations that could manipulate government in their favor bought politicians like Bill Clinton and used them to create mandates and regulations that drive up expenses for smaller mom and pop nonunion competitors until they either unionized or gave up and sold out to the big guys who could afFord the temporary pain, and he knows that.
At this point I am just going to go into the frugal mode I lived by in my early 20s - cutting expenses anywhere and everywhere I can, and eating a cheap but sufficient diet. Not that I absolutely have to, but I see no reason to fund an economy that was fashioned for us by those who hate us.
Wow,who knew?! I started cutting meat in 1975,I’m retired now. I busted down many a hind and front quarter. I still have my knives,steel,stone,and hand saw. There are many tricks of the trade to learn. One has to know how to merchandise and make money.
I knew a guy who worked in a meat packing plant a few years ago. He regularly described nightmare conditions to me. Long hours, below zero blast chiller winds, manhandling carcasses. . .
The problem with slow thinking managers is that even though they are aware of the one easily fixed major problem that harms employee health and morale the most, they won’t lift a finger to resolve. There is no reason why you cannot allow employees to take a seat while performing some of the tasks. Not everything on a steer needs to be processed by a person on their feet.
The guy is in Illinois, so the problem for him may be that skilled butcher’s left the state because of its income tax.
Costs a lot of money to set up a USDA inspected plant and after you get it going, you have to keep a USDA inspector working full time and pay his/her $80k salary. Some states have state inspected meat packing plants that don’t require a full time inspector but is the equivalent to USDA but a lot cheaper. Problem is, the meat can only be sold in that state and most grocery store chains span at least a few states.
I’ve got a state inspected processor/farm near me that processes their own animals & sells direct from the farm. Prices are about the same as grocery store though so there’s no savings. Better quality though. I think they finish off with some grain but not as extreme as the feed lots do.
This industry is a perfect candidate for robotic automation. Several of the large meat processors are actively researching this to reduce costs. The main problem seems to be the variability of the animals body parts which makes designing vision systems and sensors more difficult. The entire food chain including genetics may need to be redesigned to standardize animal dimensions more narrowly. Here’s an interesting article on recent process.
https://www.fooddive.com/news/meat-processors-expedite-automation-as-pandemic-increases/588166/
Once Costco meat counter was crowded. Last. time in no one was at the meat counter.
Pay more, they will come.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.