Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 4/16/20

The White House appears to be growing more nervous about the increasing press coverage of Covid-19 shuttering major American meat plants. Perdue made a rare appearance in the Rose Garden on Wednesday for the daily pandemic briefing to remind food industry workers to comply with public health guidelines.

"We need our local health authorities and our state health authorities to do everything they can to balance the demand of keeping our facilities operational and our critical industries going, while at the same time keeping the health and safety of employees as a top priority as well as our communities," Perdue said during the press conference.

Growing crisis in South Dakota: One of the largest U.S. pork processing plants reported 518 infections among its employees and another 126 in people connected to them as of Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. That makes the now-shuttered Smithfield Foods plant in Sioux Falls the epicenter of one of the largest clusters of infections in the country.

Ripple effect: The South Dakota Smithfield plant accounts for about 5 percent of the country's pork processing and the mounting list of closures is being felt across the industry. Hog farmers are considering euthanizing animals to deal with the backlog of pigs, reports Pro Ag's Liz Crampton.

Canadian capacity also under threat: The impact spans North America. Cargill reduced production at one of the largest beef-packing plants in Canada this week after several dozen employees fell ill. Reuters has more. 

Consumer impact TBD: The meatpacking industry is reassuring shoppers that there's no indication food will become scarce — disruptions right now only affect farmers and factory workers. But if outbreaks worsen and more plants shut down, consumers could see emptier shelves at grocery stores.

Supply chains remain a hot mess: In the presser, Perdue reiterated that there is enough food to feed people, it's just taking some time to sort out the retail supply chain. "I want to be clear, the bare store shelves you may see in some cities in the country are a demand issue, not a supply issue," he said.