COVID-19 and Meatpacking

Trump ag secretary Sonny Perdue personally lobbied to keep meatpacking plants open during pandemic, emails show

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It’s well-established that Trump administration officials wanted meatpacking plants to keep operating, often with industry pressure, as workers fell ill and died by the dozens. But new emails obtained by nonprofit Public Citizen show Perdue personally lobbying to keep plants open, including pressing Robert Redfield, the former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director.

#agalerts

#AgAlerts: Covid-19, slaughterhouses, dairy crisis, CARES

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The dismal outlook for Wisconsin dairy farmers has worsened as they’re being warned that milk prices will continue falling, and more milk dumping could be necessary, if the federal government doesn’t start buying dairy products to offset COVID-19’s effect on the economy.

#agalerts

Covid-19

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Rural communities are bracing for a looming recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic, expecting that it could devastate already shaky economies.

As the virus shuts down schools, factories, restaurants and other businesses, rural towns contend with a smaller tax base, less access to high-speed internet and growing strain among lenders.

ag economics

For Midwestern farmers, the workforce and supply chain are top issues in ‘flash recession’

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In agriculture, when a lack of rain combines with very high temperatures and sunny days, the rapid dryness is called a “flash drought.” Well, this economic downturn related to fears about the coronavirus pandemic could be a flash recession, said Scott Irwin, an agricultural economics professor at the University of Illinois. Irwin, along with four other professors from the University of Illinois Agricultural and Consumer Economics department, addressed how the coronavirus pandemic could affect agriculture in the Midwest in a webinar on Friday.