Bloomberg reports,

President Donald Trump plans to order meat-processing plants to remain open as the nation confronts growing food-supply disruptions from the coronavirus outbreak, a person familiar with the matter said.

Trump plans to use the Defense Production Act to order the companies to stay open as critical infrastructure, and the government will provide additional protective gear for employees as well as guidance, according to the person.

This comes as many processing plants have closed nationally—including the Tyson plant in Wallula:

In Washington, county health officials have required Tyson, which typically has a workforce of more than 1,400 at the Wallula plant, to test all employees coronavirus. This will result in a temporary halt to operations announced by Tyson on Thursday, with workers asked to self-quarantine at home — after testing — with paid leave.

As the Associated Press reported yesterday, “Meat isn’t going to disappear from supermarkets because of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses. But as the meat plants struggle to remain open, consumers could face less selection and slightly higher prices.”

Meanwhile, with funding in one of the federal aid bills, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide commodity boxes to needy Americans. To do so, USDA will purchase $100 million in fresh fruits and vegetables, $100 million in dairy products, and $100 million in meat products each month.

According to WSU economist Karina Gallardo, it’s too soon to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on the apple industry in Washington:

However individual apple operations are in a better position to make such calculations at the field, packinghouse, and market levels. COVID-19 is increasing the risk of labor availability, decreasing labor productivity, and increasing labor costs. Housing for H2A availability will be a challenge. Since the pandemic outbreak, sale patterns have changed, and packing houses are adjusting to the new situation. In sum, the effects of the increased production and packing costs coupled with declining retail prices and trade retaliation-that were already a concern for the industry- will be magnified due to COVID-19.

(Speaking of H-2A housing, Lens reported last week that the state Department of Health and Department of Labor & Industries are considering emergency rules for temporary agricultural worker housing during this time.)

Some interesting food economics links:

• Eating out or staying in? FRED says bon appétit. “[S]ocial distancing has dramatically switched consumer demand for restaurants and bars—almost dollar for dollar—to food and beverage stores.”
• Are Americans Drinking More? Probably Not.
• The Yeast Supply Chain Can’t Just Activate Itself

Finally, it is springtime, as USDA reminds us in this week’s crop progress and condition report for Washington:

In western Washington, soil conditions improved, but most soils were too wet. The newly planted grass and grains were emerging well and looked good. Livestock were on pasture rotations. Fruit trees had very high levels of bloom. Caneberries came out with growth. In Snohomish County, there was a lot of field preparation in anticipation of early field corn planting. Vegetable producers planted in fields and high tunnels. Early greens harvest started. In Skagit County, beets, Swiss chard, spinach, spring wheat, and potatoes were planted. Widespread moisture was received early in the week in central Washington. In Yakima County, field crews were in cherry orchards thinning fruit crops. Grape vines showed nearly one foot of new vine growth. Some hop fields were burned back to stagger hop harvest. Asparagus harvest was picking up. Alfalfa fields were green and actively growing. There was more irrigation under black plastic in vegetable fields. Producers started to plant cucumber, tomato, and peppers into the black plastic stripes. In eastern Washington at the beginning of the week conditions were dry and windy. Precipitation occurred during the middle of the week. Crops were up and looked good.