With the closure of multiple pork processing plants in Minnesota and across the Midwest halting livestock processing, a number of Republican state lawmakers composed a letter to President Trump urging immediate action to prevent major disruptions to our food supply, farm bankruptcies, job losses, and devastating impacts on rural economies that are already struggling.
The lawmakers asked the President for a national strategy and assistance with the following:
- Direct the Centers for Disease Control and/or the United States Department of Agriculture to coordinate or oversee efforts between relevant state-level agencies to quickly develop plans to safely re-open processing plants, including prioritizing delivery of personal protective equipment and sanitation resources that are available to other front-line workers.
- Continued augmentation off the supply chain, working with small processors to get license exemptions to ensure as many pigs can be processed as possible.
- Working with regional governors to coordinate and mobilize the National Guard to assist where possible.
- Coordinate destruction of pigs, if necessary, at processing plants rather than having them put down on-site at farms.
- Immediate authorization or expansion of access to disaster assistance programs.
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