Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 10/10/16


Smithfield Foods and Tyson Foods on Friday afternoon both said they had put in place preparedness procedures for Hurricane Matthew.

Tyson said it had planned to close its Jacksonville, Fla., beef further processing plant on Friday and Saturday. Smithfield declined to comment on a Reuters report that it was closing its Tar Heel, N.C., pork plant as a precaution, telling Meatingplace that the company has a policy of not commenting on day-to-day activities, including minor disruptions or closures, of operations unless there is a material event that occurs.

Smithfield did say it was taking precautions at its numerous operations in North Carolina, and was monitoring the storm’s track.
The massive storm had, at the time of Smithfield’s announcement on Friday, barreled up the Atlantic Coast of Florida, with reports indicating at least two deaths and more than 1 million people without power, and was causing flood damage already in South Carolina.

Smithfield has numerous operations, in the form of processing plants and farms, and employs more than 10,000 people in North Carolina. Employees in the company's eastern North Carolina plants and on its approximately 250 company-owned farms and 1,500 contract farms are taking steps to protect people, animals and buildings against wind and rain damage, the company said.

Smithfleld's hurricane preparedness procedures have included, as necessary, lowering lagoon levels in accordance with state regulations and farms' nutrient management plans, a step the company performs on an ongoing basis to address periods of heavy rains.

"The safety of our team members is a top priority and we have decided not to operate one of our plants today and tomorrow. We continue to work with our farmers and plant facilities to closely monitor the hurricane," Tyson Foods said in statement emailed to Meatingplace on Friday. 

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.