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Livestock farmer calls meatpacking a hard but critical job

A north-central Iowa crop and livestock farmer has sympathy for packing plant workers.

Josh Nelson, a hog and cattle producer from Belmond, calls meat packing a hard but essential job.

“For the economy and for the health of everybody, because we all have to eat. I’ve got two kids at home and another one on the way, so we’re going to be feeling this pinch too about making sure there’s food there and worrying about what’s available to us for our kids to eat.”

He tells Brownfield the company he grows hogs for has not been affected, but several of their other plants are running at 75 or 80 percent of capacity.

“Then you’ve got to worry to make sure if they’re running on lower capacity, that means those workers may be sick. And you don’t want anyone to be working when they’re under the weather, possibly spreading more contagion.”

Nelson says it’s a tough position for packing plants to be in, and his heart is with those people risking their lives to produce food every day.

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