One of the potentially hardest hit areas of the agriculture economy as a result of the coronavirus is the beef cattle industry.
Kentucky is the largest beef cattle state east of the Mississippi River and beef cattle is a big part of the Russell County ag community. Consumers have expressed concern in recent weeks after seeing empty or significantly reduced meat cases at grocery stores as meat plants across the country have closed or slowed down production.
WJRS Local News talked with Jonathan Oakes, Russell County Extension Agent for Agriculture, and asked him if the empty meat cases indicate a shortage in meat supply…
Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order requiring all meat plants to remain open amid growing concerns of food shortages as a result of the pandemic.
We asked Oakes what consumers can do to support local beef farmers…
We will continue our discussion with Oakes tomorrow on WJRS Local News.
