Kansas Senator Jerry Moran told AgDay Anchor Clinton Griffiths he was pleased that President Trump signed an executive order for U.S. meat packing plants to remain open.
“I called the President last week to let him know how serious things are in the meat processing industry, what it means to livestock producers, what it means to consumers at the grocery store,” Moran said. “I appreciate him making this declaration.”
Moran said Kansas has four large beef packing facilities that employ about 18,000 workers, producing $10 billion in economic activity while harvesting about one-quarter of the cattle in the U.S.
Moran said the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis is not just the employment in Kansas in regard to packing, “but what it’s doing to livestock producers and the prices, the markets. We’ve certainly had reports this week that packers are turning away livestock that had been delivered to the packing plants because there was just simply no place to go with the cattle.”
The Kansas plants, however, have not been closed, he said, but the slowdown in processing is having a consequence. That’s of immense concern to livestock producers, to consumers and to the state of the Kansas economy.
Moran also said representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) visited the Kansas plants last week making sure safety protocols were in place.
One thing the executive order does is reduce liability for the packing companies as they navigate the coronavirus pandemic.
“Still, we have to have a safe workforce, ad that workforce has to feel comfortable going to work,” Moran said. “It doesn’t mean that with the signature of a pen that everything is fine.”
Moran said the executive order means the industry needs to redouble efforts in safety and the well-being of the people who work I the packing plants.
“That’s how we get the supply chain back in operation.”
Moran said testing has increased in the counties where the packing plants are located.
“The challenge always in this issue is timing, can we get (tests) where they need to be as quickly as they need to be there so we don’t disrupt the economy and do greater damage to the livestock industry,” Moran said.
The President’s executive order does not force people to go to work, Moran said.
“I hope it means a real focus on more testing, more PPE, more safety and security so that the employees do go to work,” he said. Workers “need to feel comfortable and safe.”
Read original article: https://cattlemensharrison.com/farm-journal-live-sen-jerry-moran-reacts-to-packing-plant-order/
By: Drovers