Colusa County rancher Jerry Maltby has been keeping his thousand-pound feeder cattle at his feedlot in Williams, waiting for market prices to improve. Outbreaks of COVID-19 at some meat processing plants have led to bottlenecks in the supply chain and falling cattle prices.
Photo/Ching Lee
A cow-calf herd grazes on pasture at Broken Box Ranch in Colusa County.
Photo/Ching Lee
Beef supply bottleneck worries ranchers
A slowdown by the nation's meat processing plants due to outbreaks of COVID-19 has created a bottleneck in the supply chain, pushing prices lower across all cattle categories and forcing ranchers to make tough decisions about what to do with their market-ready animals. Read more...

Expanded USDA food box program begins operation
California-grown food has begun moving to people struggling with food insecurity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic through a new federal program, which also may benefit some farmers, ranchers and food distributors who lost business when restaurants and other food service outlets closed after stay-at-home protocols took effect. Read more...

Commentary: How to help fellow farmers struggling with stress
In agriculture, relationships are paramount and we look out for each other. When tragedy strikes one of our own in the form of death, disability or disease, we're right there with a hot dish, a hug and harvesting equipment, depending on the time of year. Read more...

Subscribe
Sign up to receive weekly emails with links to the latest issue of Ag Alert®.