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Uncertainty adds to challenging 2020 for agriculture

Uncertainty abounds months into the COVID-19 pandemic.

For agriculture, Minnesota Farmers Union president Gary Wertish says planning for the future remains extremely difficult.

“Whether you’re a farmer raising fruits or vegetables, or livestock selling into the restaurant industry, they don’t know when that’s going to come back full speed. But it does affect the regular commodity farmers too (because) we’re raising food. So the whole system has really been challenged and disrupted.”

He tells Brownfield the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program payments are appreciated, but CFAP does not make farmers whole.

“A lot of the economy needs help, and we’re working with congressional people to try to get help to the farmer who actually needs it, or the small business. So it’s definitely a need.”

Wertish says the pandemic has not only affected the U.S. economy, but the global economy as well.  And he’s concerned about how long it will take to recover.