A little more than a year after Smithfield Foods closed the Sioux Falls pork plant due to COVID, the industry is being criticized for not doing enough to protect workers. South Dakota Pork Producers Council Executive Director Glenn Muller says the shot by the Argus Leader is unwarranted.

He says the supply chain melt down that resulted from packing plant closures like Smithfield sent shock waves through agriculture, devastating producers and the region’s economy.

Muller points out that the meat processing industry spent millions of dollars to provide additional personal protective equipment and retrofit plants with plexiglass spacers and other mechanisms to keep workers safe.

The temporary closure of several packing plants in the region backed up livestock and resulted in the euthanization of thousands of animals. All this hurt producers and consumers.