South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds is pleased with the decision to reopen meat processing plants. “We’ve got producers who have had to euthanize livestock. We have about 35 percent of our pork processing capabilities in an idle position and 25 percent of our cattle processing equipment is idle,” said Rounds. “By the end of the week, it would have been worse. We would have had, I believe, an emergency situation for our food supply by then.” Rounds said having plants up and operating at a reduced capacity is better than plants not running at all. Worker safety is a focus as well, though it’s unclear whether a plant with illnesses would have to reopen. The Defense Production Act provides more authority for companies to use emergency equipment that may not have been available before.
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