In some ways, the Coronavirus has led many parts of the meat industry to change. In other cases, it has merely accelerated changes that were happening anyway.

Locally raised food, online meat sales and small meat markets were gaining in popularity anyway, at a steady rate. When the big grocery stores ran out of meat, consumers turned to new ways to buy groceries for their families. Some have undoubtedly gone back to their old shopping habits, not that the meat supply is plentiful once more. Others, though, have adapted these new sales channels to their regular shopping habits.

The magazine industry has had to change and adapt as well. At the start of the year, discussions started to be held about converting The National Provisioner and Independent Processor to digital publications. The costs of printing were escalating, and we started to talk about a gradual phase toward digital. Then COVID hit, and many readers began working from home if they could, and we didn’t have those addresses. Our company decided to move up its plans and move to a digital format this summer. There have been some growing pains, but we’re thankful that so many of our readers have made the transition with us. The plans to further improve our digital content are exciting, and our goal is to continue to provide you with valuable and informative content.

As a part of that, our newsletters are evolving as well. Starting with this edition, Independent Processor’s Prime Cuts is becoming a weekly newsletter, landing in your inbox every Thursday afternoon. We have many other exciting plans for the future, including a free webinar on October 15 that hopefully will inspire you to think about your own company’s growth and change. Read about the webinar here and register today!