WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide immediate and direct financial assistance to help family pork and beef producers in Illinois. In a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, the Senators said such financial assistance would help with stabilizing cash flow and mitigate marketplace disruptions in the wake of the economic emergency resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Congress provided $14 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funds and another $9.5 billion for USDA to provide direct support to commodity, livestock and other agricultural producers who face serious financial jeopardy during this crisis.
“Sudden price declines have harmed on-farm operations of hog and cattle producers. Major market shifts away from restaurants and hospitality purchases towards increased retail grocery purchases also have contributed to these livestock price changes. Reverberations have extended well into the supply chain, from livestock housing challenges and maintenance costs, to workforce disruptions due to illness or social distancing precautions, imperiling the processing, transportation and delivery of retail products. Federal support also should be provided to stabilize the supply chain. That support also should recognize the critical contributions of on-farm, food and guest workers in maintaining these food networks, and must support protecting their personal and workplace health, safety and financial security,” the Senators wrote.
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