Pandemic Ag Reaction Pt 1

Pandemic Ag Reaction Pt 1

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I’m Bob Larson. With all the challenges brought on by the pandemic in 2020, agriculture pulled together as best they could to weather the storm.

At last week’s virtually held Potato Expo, representatives from different specialty crop groups in the Farm Bill Alliance sat down to discuss those obstacles.

United Fresh Produce CEO, Tom Stenzel says it was different from the start …

STENZEL … “It gave us the natural ability to align the industry again. And, as usual, the COVID crisis affected people differently. Growers in Florida were not able to sell product, they were dumping product. Certainly, the potato industry was affected long-term as well with contracts being canceled.”

As usual, Stenzel says it was a team effort …

STENZEL … “So, we got together with the four organizations here, but more than 100 different specialty crop associations across America. And, we sent to Congress our list, $5-billion of losses that we were able to accumulate because we were all working together to have a real number.”

Stenzel says they took things seriously …

STENZEL … “So, when Congress started debating COVID relief, we were at the table, we had a strong message, we had data, and we were able to drive a lot of the funding that came forward.”

Tune in tomorrow for more on this team effort for the largest disaster response in USDA history.

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