By Sarah Schieck Boelke, Swine Extension Educator – schi0466@umn.edu or 320-235-0726 ext. 2004. Are you impacted by a pork packing plant closure due to COVID-19 and have pigs scheduled to ship in the near future and wondering what to do? Below is a list of strategies for you to consider. It is important to note that the strategies outlined below are meant to be temporary for emergency situations. The wellbeing of the pigs should be your number one priority when considering how best to manage pork packing plant closure. Additional pig observation is recommended when implementing any of these options. Communicate with your buyer When facing a plant closure challenge, contact your buyer to learn about how you will be impacted. For some of the pork packers with other plant location, they are re-routing some of the pigs to other plants. These other plants are expanding harvesting hours to include Saturday and Sunday. There is a chance some of your pigs will be marketed this way. B