Agriculture deemed essential in emergency

by | Mar 20, 2020 | Ohio Country Journal

The Trump Administration has made it clear that the food and agriculture is a critical infrastructure industry in the wake of the coronavirus national emergency, a move that encourages state and local authorities to allow farms and the entire food-supply chain to continue operating as usual amid current and potential restrictions created to stem the spread of the virus.

?This declaration allows farmers to do what they do best ? feed U.S. consumers ? in a time of acute need and anxiety,? said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of National Milk Producers Federation. ?Agriculture is working around the clock to ensure timely delivery of safe, abundant food. That?s what farmers always do ? but in a time of unprecedented public-health concern, a fully functioning food system is even more critical to national health and well-being.?

The administration?s designation of ?essential critical infrastructure workforce? was announced today by the Department of Homeland Security.? Continue reading