Agriculture

'Our contingency plan is panic': Farmers enter planting season amid low prices, COVID-19
Planting is getting underway in Minnesota, but the pandemic has knocked down crop prices — and the virus threat has farmers like Betsy Jensen on edge during the busy spring season.
Tyson Foods idles its largest pork plant after Iowa outbreak
Tyson Foods suspended operations Wednesday at an Iowa plant that is critical to the nation's pork supply but was blamed for fueling a coronavirus outbreak in the community.
Pork farmers face tough times with plant closures
Wednesday was the last day of operations at JBS pork processing plant in Worthington before its indefinite closure. This comes after reports of dozens of employees at the plant tested positive for COVID-19.
‘It was expected’: Worthington pork plant closes indefinitely
Health officials said Monday that almost 40 people with ties to the plant — employees and their family members — had confirmed cases of COVID-19. They expect that number to grow, as more people are tested and more positive cases are investigated.
Officials implore Tyson to close Iowa pork plant amid virus outbreak
More than a dozen Iowa elected officials on Friday implored Tyson Fresh Meats to close its Waterloo pork processing plant, saying the coronavirus is spreading among workers and is endangering both employees and the surrounding community.
Local farmers, reliant on shuttered schools and restaurants, find new markets
Thousands of Minnesota farms grow food that supply schools, restaurants and families with everything from meat to vegetables to flour. The coronavirus pandemic has turned many of those markets upside down.