US farmers dump 3.7 million gallons of milk every day and plow fresh vegetables back into the soil because restaurants, hotels and schools have closed due to the coronavirus
- Dairy Farmers of America estimates farmers dump 3.7 million gallons of milk daily, and a single chicken processor smashes 750,000 unhatched eggs per week
- The International Dairy Foods Association also estimates US farmers are dumping about 5 per cent of the current US milk supply
- Farmers saw business drop after restaurants, hotels and schools were shuttered in response to the pandemic
- Farmers also are being forced to bury fresh vegetables for the same reasons, or in some cases, donate them to organizations like Meals on Wheels
- Limited resources challenge making donations, as well as repackaging products that are in demand from customers farmers don’t normally work with
- Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID
Farmers are dumping milk and plowing crops back into the soil across the U.S. after the closings of restaurants, hotels and schools in response to the coronavirus outbreak has impacted business.
As a result, farmers are dumping 3.7 million gallons of milk daily, as a single chicken processor smashes 750,000 unhatched eggs per week, reports Dairy Farmers of America, the largest dairy farm cooperative in the country.
The International Dairy Foods Association also estimates that farmers are currently dumping about 5 per cent of the milk supply in the U.S. Many are also are being forced to bury fresh vegetables , or in some cases, donate them to organizations like Meals on Wheels.
Limited resources and money, however, are making it difficult to provide the donations.
Farmers are dumping milk and plowing crops back into the soil across the U.S. after the closings of restaurants, hotels and schools in response to the coronavirus outbreak has impacted business. Magic Valley Quality Milk Transport of Idaho is pictured dumping milk
A drop in business has forced the dumping of about 5 per cent of the milk supply in the U.S., according to the International Dairy Foods Association. Cows are pictured at a dairy farm in Hastings, Minnesota
Farmers also are being forced to bury fresh vegetables for the same reasons, or in some cases, donate them to organizations that provide food to those in need, like Meals on Wheels. A worker harvests collard greens at Footprint Farms of Jackson, Mississippi
Farmers also say they are facing challenges repackaging products as some switch from supplying the food service industry to grocers and other retail food sellers they are not normally prepared to work with, the New York Times reports.
The move to destroy fresh food as the deadly flu-like virus, also known as COVID-19, comes as the outbreak has resulted in job losses for millions of Americans, and shows how industries across the country have struggled to adapt to the crisis when they are still greatly needed.
There have been more than 550,600 confirmed cases in the U.S. of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for at least 21,715 deaths.
There have been more than 550,600 confirmed cases in the US of the coronavirus, which has been blamed for at least 21,715 deaths
The number of coronavirus cases in the US as they have escalated over time
The number of new coronavirus infections in the US as they have escalated over time
A day-to-day look at the number of deaths in the US resulting from the coronavirus
As America’s agricultural industry is confronted by the impacts of the virus, there have been some striking examples of food waste.
Wisconsin and Ohio farmers have dumped thousands of gallons of fresh milk into lagoons and manure pits.
An Idaho farmer found himself digging ditches to bury 1 million pounds of onions.
Meanwhile, South Florida farms, which supply much of the East coast, have sent tractors across the fields to replow beans, cabbage and other ripe vegetables right back into the ground.
‘It’s heartbreaking,’ Paul Allen, co-owner of R.C. Hatton, tells the Times.
The company has had to destroy millions of pounds of beans and cabbage at his farms in South Florida and Georgia.
As Allen and other farmers plow fresh vegetables into the soil, they have had to plant the same crops again in the hopes the economy’s recovery will come by the time they have have grown enough to harvest.
Otherwise, they may have to destroy the fruits of their labors again, while so many in America are in need.