Items Tagged with 'pandemic'

Even as some states and USDA invest millions of dollars in expanding medium and small-scale meat processing, a new economic analysis cautions against seeing this development as insulation against the next “black swan” event, which is how the researchers describe the pandemic.

An often-overlooked segment of the farmworker population in California is gaining increased recognition as community-based organizations and researchers have collected and shared their experiences of working through the pandemic.

The Department of Agriculture will require all federal employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by November 22, except those who are “legally entitled to a reasonable or religious accommodation,” according to a workplace safety plan outlining the department's pandemic response.

A broad array of contract livestock and poultry producers will be eligible for coronavirus relief and payment rules for specialty crop growers are being liberalized under rules changes made by the Agriculture Department.

Restaurant sales were up in June, 6.6% above the pre-pandemic figures from February 2020, the National Restaurant Association said in a recent report.

Hog and poultry producers who had to depopulate herds or flocks because of the COVID-19 slowdowns in processing plants can start applying July 20 for compensation from the Agriculture Department.

The federal agencies responsible for inspecting agricultural imports at national ports of entry lack sufficient staff and training, in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and have failed to document progress on their own strategic plan. These are among the findings of a Government Accountability Office report on imported agriculture inspections, released Tuesday.

In this opinion piece, Julie Greene with Olam International discusses the need for partnerships so farmers to make a full and more prosperous recovery due to COVID-19.

USDA announced Wednesday plans to spend at least $6 billion on new pandemic aid programs that reach a broader swath of producers than previous efforts, while putting “a greater emphasis on outreach to small and socially disadvantaged producers, specialty crop and organic producers (and) timber harvesters.”