The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered meat production in the U.S., as a reduction in output from processing facilities — as well as workers who have contracted the virus — have taken a toll. Numerous area grocery stores have instituted numerical purchase limits on a variety of meat items, and costs have risen sharply, particularly on beef and brisket. Kelley Sullivan Georgiades, a TSCRA director and owner and operator of Santa Rosa Ranch in Navasota and Crockett, said that the issue was not a lack of available cattle or other animals. –The Eagle Bryan/College Station