Ag Outlook 2-1-2021

One of the most apparent trends across America induced by the pandemic is the shift to eating at home. Nothing has compared to it in the past four decades. It’s forced another change as well – the diverting of meat and other food originally destined for restaurants toward grocery stores. It’s estimated even though foodservice sales have improved since the COVID crises first hit last spring, they may not return to pre-pandemic levels until the second half of next year. A spokesperson for CoBank says beef and pork sectors have some flexibility to adapt since major packers sell their products to a variety of retail and foodservice customers. Many poultry plants focus either on retail or foodservice, but not necessarily both.