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MFU president concerned about economic fallout from COVID-19 pandemic

The president of Minnesota Farmers Union is concerned many farmers will struggle to weather the economic hardships resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

Gary Wertish tells Brownfield 2020 was already looking like the sixth straight year of generally low commodity prices before COVID-19 crashed the financial, energy, and ag markets.

“The trade war has really dug us in a deeper hole, and we’ve got a long ways to climb out of that.”

He says it’s impossible to know what the full impact of the pandemic will be.

“In some states you have restaurants closing down, and that’s a significant amount of food that gets moved through the restaurants. Obviously people have to eat, so they’ll be eating at home. But it’s still going to have an effect on the overall marketplace and demand.”

Wertish hopes the government comes to the aid of farmers during this unprecedented time.  But he says the priority right now should be helping people who are losing their jobs and getting laid off because of the outbreak.