Source: P.J. Huffstutter & Rod Nickel, REUTERS, 5/26/20

Inside the small-scale Iowa abattoir Stanhope Locker and Market, owner Shaunna Zanker yawns with exhaustion as she listens to yet another farmer asking her to slaughter his pigs. “I’m so sorry, but we’re booked through March of next year,” Zanker said on the phone. “How about next June?” Slaughter operations like Zanker’s are booming as novel coronavirus outbreaks at major U.S. and Canadian meat plants force farmers and meat-loving consumers to seek out alternatives to a crucial supply-chain link.

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