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Iowa pork producer shares coronavirus concerns
Kevin Rasmussen of Goldfield, Iowa (photo courtesy the Pork Checkoff)Iowa pork producer Kevin Rasmussen says, from a business standpoint, he’s very concerned with how a widespread coronavirus outbreak would impact the pork supply chain.
“The whole system, from the feed truck driver to the processing plant to the distributors. If any piece of that puzzle goes down because there’s some public health concerns with workers, it’s devastating to the livestock industry,” Rasmussen says.
“We need to have all of the pieces working at top-notch production right now, because we’re running at basically 100 percent capacity in the swine industry. But it’s not any different in the beef industry or the poultry industry. We’ve got to have all of the pieces of the puzzle to make this work.”
The livestock industry is not like other industries, Rasmussen says.
“It’s not like we’re making widgets or whatever out here. We’re working with live animals and we have best management practices that we have to follow. We’ve got to keep these animals healthy, keep the people healthy, and put food on the table.
Rasmussen farms near Goldfield, Iowa.
AUDIO: Kevin Rasmussen
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