A Glance at Ag #8

APRIL 24, 2020

Here are some resources I’ve found recently to help us digest what’s going on in the agriculture industry. Consider each resource as “food for thought” in our own journeys of understanding food, and let’s ask questions to allow us to continually learn and grow.

Food Supply & COVID-19

Article: Five Free Online Farming & Gardening Courses You Can Take Right Now

In a time where people are planting “victory gardens” again and are interested in becoming more closely connected to their food, this is a comprehensive list of resources from around the country that may interest you in terms of farming and gardening.

Video (Podcast): Will There Be Shortages? The Impact of Coronavirus on the Pork Supply Chain (Sp)

Damian Mason, on his podcast “The Business of Agriculture”, hosts an Iowa pork producer to talk about potential pork shortages and the impacts of plant closures on consumers.  I think Mason and his guest from Rob Brenneman do a nice job of explaining the big picture of this issue and supply chain. If you do anything with this edition of A Glance at Ag from today – watch this 30 minute video!

Article: Pandemic ‘Devastating’ for Agritourism Industry

When thinking about agriculture, considering the local farmer is important. In this piece by Jonathan Cribbs on the Delmarva Farmer, we learn about how tough this is for small, local farms that rely on the public to keep them going. My family is in this camp of people, and it has been incredibly challenging. All we can do it plan for the worst, hope for the best, be flexible, and take it day by day.

Between balancing employees, an uncertain cash flow, and maintaining some sense of normalcy, things are beyond challenging. This piece does a nice job of showing some Mid-Atlantic operations that are struggling amidst the COVID-19 shutdown.

Article: ‘Horrible choices’: Iowa livestock producers may have to euthanize pigs as packing plants struggle

Iowa is the nation’s largest pork producing state and is a huge part of the American food supply. This USA Today article by Donelle Eller describes the tough decisions that Iowan and American hog farmers are about to make and why they will have to make them.

A very big disclaimer: this article in no way is suggesting that pork producers are wanting to make drastic decisions on their operations or for their animals. In addition to that, this is not the reality for every farmer raising pigs. Some smaller farmers might explore other options, like going to a local butcher if they have the capacity to process additional animals.

By the way some businesses are set up, there is a certain capacity of how many hogs can be held before they go to their partnering processing plant. This is a very drastic time that some hog producers are faced with insurmountable decisions, and I think this article does a nice job at explaining what those are, why they might make these choices, and the fact that this is NOT what farmers usually do or prefer to do.

As always, farmers have the best interest in mind for their animals, and this situation has made them think about how they can still protect those animals, their businesses, and their livelihoods.

Article: Tyson Foods Reopens Columbus Junction Pork Plant

In the midst of everything sounding worse and worse related to our food supply, here’s some good news that we’re not hearing about. Amidst other closures of protein processing plants around the country, in some places, as described in this Farm Journal article by Jennifer Shike, things are getting better.

Article: FDA Offers Assurance About Food Safety and Supply for People and Animals During COVID-19

Where does the government fall into the COVID-19 picture, aside from financial assistance? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a large part of our agricultural and food supply chains as the FDA is consistently testing for safety and quality assurance. This is an important article, written by Frank Yiannas, Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response at FDA, that explains how the nation is doing in terms of an available supply of food and what the FDA is doing to ensure it’s a safe one.

If you have any thoughts on the above links, or if you find any helpful or insightful resources in your internet searching, please send them to me on social media (below) or on my contact page.

Thanks for reading!