Sterling Hatch

Sterling Hatch

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
My name's Sterling Hatch. I'm a third generation farmer here in Bingham County. We have a dairy where we milk about 60 cows. We also raise about 120 beef cows. And my wife and I and my kids raise show pigs for 4-H kids. About a month ago when the coronavirus got started in China, seemed like another one of those diseases that's going to affect somebody else. It was a long ways away. And then it started to hit on the coasts here in the United States. And we watched the news and still seem a long ways away, but it seemed to get closer. And now they've closed schools. We do have some cases here locally and it's getting a little bit closer. On the farm personally, I'm pretty immune, I guess, I don't get out much, but I spend my time outside with animals. So as far as safety, especially on the dairy, our milk supply is very safe. Here on the farm, we follow strict guidelines for everything we do.

State inspectors, federal inspectors, keep us up to date on all the health codes and the milk is hauled in safe trucks and it gets to the plant. All of the equipment is inspected. The milk is is pasteurized. And that process has been going on for decades. All the milk is processed. It's tested and retested in several different labs. And so when it gets to your table, it's completely safe.

It's been it's been approved and it's been sampled at multiple levels from the farm all the way to the grocery store.

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