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Tag: USDA

  • Bennet Calls for Investigation into Federal Government’s Role in the Spread of COVID-19 in Meat Processing Facilities

    Bennet Calls for Investigation into Federal Government’s Role in the Spread of COVID-19 in Meat Processing Facilities

    Image provided by MGN on-line. please note this image was NOT taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

    Denver — Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet sent a letter to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspector General Phyllis Fong and the United States Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Inspector General Larry Turner requesting an investigation into federal actions that may have contributed to the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in meat processing facilities and other agricultural processing facilities.

     Specifically, Bennet requested Fong and Turner review steps the federal government took to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in meat processing facilities and how President Donald Trump’s use of the Defense Production Act to keep these facilities open may have affected the health of workers.

     “Meat processing plants have had some of the highest rates of COVID-19 infections, harming a workforce predominately comprised of immigrants, refugees, and People of Color who are at a higher risk for COVID-19…While many industries suffered from COVID-19 outbreaks, the high incidence of outbreaks at these facilities, even very early in the pandemic, raises questions,” wrote Bennet. “In Weld County, Colorado, there were reports of increased doctors’ visits among meat processing plant employees throughout March, with dozens of confirmed cases, 14 hospitalizations, and at least two worker deaths by April 10…By May 5, hundreds of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) employees had been exposed to or tested positive for COVID-19, and three individuals had died.”

     In the letter, Bennet specifically requested Fong and Turner review:

     

    • USDA and United States Department of Labor’s actions (or inaction) regarding meat processing plants and the related COVID-19 outbreaks
    • The use of voluntary health and safety standards at meat processing facilities
    • The federal government’s communication of authority, standards, and expectations with state, local, worker, and industry stakeholders
    • The movement of USDA inspectors between facilities amid outbreaks
    • The provision of personal protective equipment to USDA inspectors
    • Any federal actions following the Defense Protection Act order on April 28, 2020 that affected outbreaks at meat processing and other agricultural facilities.

     

    Bennet has continuously voiced his concern regarding the safety of workers at meat processing facilities and other agricultural processing facilities during the pandemic. In April, Bennet sent a letter urging Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the Trump Administration to help ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply and to protect essential workers in the food supply chain during the pandemic. In May, Bennet sent a letter to Pence requesting an update on the delivery of promised testing and PPE to protect workers at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley. In the letter, he highlighted the importance of testing to protect the workers, their families, and the surrounding communities and safeguard our nation’s food supply. Later that same month, Bennet and his colleagues raised concerns about the Trump Administration’s Executive Order that pressured meat processing facilities to open without verifying the necessary safety measures to protect workers and the food supply. In June, Bennet joined UFCW Local 7 in Greeley to honor the hardworking UFCW Local 7 members who lost their lives while serving on the front lines of the pandemic.

     

    The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

     

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  • New Data Shows Significant COVID-19 Impact on Bison Marketplace Comments Filed with USDA Show Losses Ample to Qualify for CFAP Relief

    New Data Shows Significant COVID-19 Impact on Bison Marketplace Comments Filed with USDA Show Losses Ample to Qualify for CFAP Relief

    National Bison Association News & Information

    WESTMINSTER, CO (June 22, 2020) — The economic disruption impacting nearly all sectors of the U.S. bison business far exceeds the threshold required to qualify bison producers for assistance being offered to agriculture through USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), according to formal comments that the National Bison Association filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today.

    Bison were among the agricultural products excluded from USDA’s first round of CFAP relief in May. At the time, the agency said that insufficient market information existed to demonstrate that bison producers had suffered at least a five percent drop in price and income from the period between mid-January and mid-April.

    However, producers excluded from the first round of assistance have until today to submit information documenting losses exceeding five percent. USDA will use that information to determine which agricultural commodities will be eligible for an additional $637 million in assistance.

    Based on information compiled from a series of surveys conducted by the bison association over the past month, prices for live bison weighing between 400 – 800 lbs. dropped 37 percent for bulls and 25 percent for heifers in the period between mid-January and mid-April. Producers responding to one on-line survey indicated that feeding costs have increased by 12 percent per animal per day during that same period.

    In a separate survey, farm-direct marketers form 24 states echoed the impact cited by the ranchers selling into larger commercial markets. The farm-direct marketers reporting live animal sales as at least 10 percent of their business reported that prices have dropped significantly. Thirty eight percent reported declines between 20-49 percent, while 24 percent of the respondents reported price drops exceeding 50 percent.

    The bottleneck in processing capacity is creating significant economic havoc for farm-direct marketers. Even though the survey did not ask about difficulties in getting animals scheduled for processing, nearly one-third of the respondents cited that as a critical factor harming their business.

    Farm-direct marketers selling to restaurants and other foodservice outlets reported a sharp drop in sales, with half reporting sales declines exceeding 50 percent. And, 63 percent of the producers participating in farmers’ markets said that they anticipate 2020 sales to be down by more than 20 percent.

    The association noted that the criteria established by USDA for determining eligibility for assistance was challenging because most economic activity in the bison business occurs outside the January-April time frame each year. While the producer surveys did provide information documenting a strong impact, “That information also serves as a type of canary in the coal mine, exposing the explosive impacts felt beyond mid-April,” the association’s comments note.

     

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