WA St Dairy Federation on Coronavirus Pt 3
I’m Bob Larson. The CARES Act has earmarked $9.5-Billion dollars for ag producers impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus.
But if this pandemic drags on much longer, Dan Wood,
Executive Director of the Washington State Dairy Federation, says as an “essential” industry, ag will have to have much more financial assistance …
WOOD … “Unfortunately, that’s really what’s happening, is they’re just printing money and long-term that’s not a good economic policy, but right now it’s probably better than the failure of farms in large numbers all across the United States. We cannot afford to become food importers. That is not good for national security and also for the health of the individuals in our country.”
With regards to keeping dairy casualties to a minimum, Wood says …
WOOD … “Well, I hope so. You know, we’ve lost ten more farms in the last few weeks in Washington state, dairy farms. So, we’re down to about 340 dairy farms in the state. I expect there will be more that are lost as this goes on and I’m hoping that the assistance comes quickly and as many can hold on as are able to do that.”
To that end, Wood says dairy farmers are a different breed …
WOOD … “There are some that have the mindset that ‘this is what they do’ and will always do and only do and those people are doing their best to be survivors again as they have in the face of other things.”
Listen tomorrow for more on the resiliency of the dairy industry.
