The Westerner published an article on the possibility of a COVID-19 virus and epidemic happening to crops. Senior Research Fellow Joseph Glauber states that we wouldn't be thinking about a crop plague but for COVID-19. The impact on the health of farm labor and workers in the meatpacking plants rises to the top. Then there is the disruption of supply chains causing rising retail prices as producers’ prices fall. Less-covered issues and challenges for U.S. agriculture cannot be forgotten. We have a new NAFTA agreement (USMCA) that is supposed to be going into effect July 1. There are a lot of people asking if we can put this off (especially in the automotive sector) as companies fight supply problems. Agriculture Online
