Webinar | September 2020

COVID-19 and American Agriculture

Nick Bowman

The agriculture sector has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying quarantine policies. Many of the largest purchasers of agricultural products—including restaurants, schools and hotels—have closed or operated at limited capacity for months due to the pandemic. With a supply chain built around these buyers and a shortage of workers, many farmers have been forced to destroy crops, dairy and dairy-related products, and livestock. Dairy farmers have been dumping millions of gallons of milk; chicken processors are destroying hundreds of thousands of eggs; and vegetable farmers are plowing acres of fields. This program outlines how the agriculture sector is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the outlook for American farmers.

Presentations:

Allison Crittenden, Director, Congressional Relations, American Farm Bureau Federation, Washington, D.C.
Michael Nepveux, Economist, American Farm Bureau Federation, Washington, D.C.

Webinar | July 2020

Implications of Recent Trade Agreements for the American Farm
Addressing Mental Health in Rural Communities

Nick Bowman

Agriculture & Rural Development Committee Virtual Program

Implications of Recent Trade Agreements for the American Farm

Many in the agriculture sector have heralded the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the Phase-One Agreement with China as unparalleled opportunities to provide their products to growing consumer bases and to promote free and fair trade. This program provides a briefing on these two important trade deals and explores how they could impact the U.S. agricultural sector, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Presentation:

Max Moncaster, Director of Public Policy, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, Virginia

Addressing Mental Health in Rural Communities

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicides among farmers are 1.5 times higher than the national average. Experts warn that rising farm debt, limited access to mental health resources, harvests impacted by extreme weather, and the lingering impacts of a long-running trade war with China—and now the COVID-19 pandemic—all are contributing to significant stress among those in the agriculture community. This program examines initiatives to increase awareness of rural stress issues and warning signs; identify ways to communicate and cope with stress; and access local resources and support.

Presentation:

Keith Mueller, Head of the Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Iowa

Policy Analysis | June 2020

Federal Assistance To Farms Amid The COVID-19 Pandemic

Nick Bowman

As of June 29, 2020, the coronavirus has infected 8 million and contributed to 440,000 deaths worldwide; including 2.2 million cases and nearly 120,000 deaths in the United States.¹ For more on the virus, see the SLC policy analyses, Unemployment in the SLC Region Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, Spread of COVID-19 within Regions of the United States, Coronavirus Impacts on State Legislatures and Elections and Coronavirus Response at State Unemployment Agencies.

The agriculture sector has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus and accompanying quarantine policies. Many of the largest buyers of agricultural products—including restaurants, schools and hotels—have closed or operated at limited capacity for months due to the pandemic. With a supply chain built around these buyers, many farmers have been forced to destroy crops, dairy and dairy-related products, and livestock. Dairy farmers have been dumping millions of gallons of milk; chicken processors are destroying hundreds of thousands of eggs; and vegetable farmers are plowing acres of fields.² Meanwhile, coronavirus outbreaks at meatpacking plants have created a backlog of pigs to be slaughtered, forcing some farmers to euthanize tens of thousands of their pigs.³

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