Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2020

coronavirus
“With all of our employees,
the thought of the virus
going through the dairy
and taking out half of our
work force…we’d be in a
bad place. It was pretty
terrifying for a while. In fact,
it still is pretty terrifying.”
— B.J. Blanchard
on buying milk and cheese at the store,”
Blanchard said, adding that things changed
again, which has been the story throughout
the year.
Some stores limited how much milk
customers could buy, while national news
reports covered some producers having to
dump milk, said Larry Tranel, Iowa State
University Extension dairy specialist.
While those two things don’t seem to
make sense from a supply and demand
standpoint, the real problem was bottlenecks
in planning, sourcing, making,
delivering and returning product, Tranel
wrote in an ISU dairy industry newsletter.
When schools closed and restaurants
were shuttered, the end markets dried up
for everything from individual cartons of
milk for students to large bags of shredded
cheese used in food service.
The Blanchards have a contract with
Prairie Farms, so much of their milk goes
to grocery stores and is used in cheese
and other dairy products. But like other
operators, they have been hurt by negative
producer price differentials (PPDs).
“With all of our employees, the thought
of the virus going through the dairy and
taking out half of our work force…we’d
be in a bad place,” said B.J. Blanchard,
dairy manager.
“It was pretty terrifying for a while. In
fact, it still is pretty terrifying,” he said in
mid-summer.
The business – which is owned by B.J.,
his brothers, Ben, Brian and Brent, and
their mom, Mitzie – takes many precautions
to keep people safe.
“We disinfect all high-traffic areas,” he
said, including breakroom tables (only two
people are allowed in at a time so breaks
are staggered), door handles, the soda machine,
and other surfaces. Employees are
told to not come to work if they are sick
and to stay home until they feel better.
“Luckily, so far we haven’t had anybody
get real sick,” he said.
The dairy industry – like other sectors
Citizens
of agriculture – has been on a wild
State
ride
Bank
during the pandemic.
“At first looked like was really
going to hurt, and then prices took off for
a lot of different reasons. There was a rush
“At Citizens State Bank we put our
focus on the needs of our customers
first. Our Maquoketa branch will be
open for business later this year and
we are looking forward to serving our
clients where it’s most convenient for
them. Stop by our new location in 2020
to see how we can best serve you.”
Member
FDIC
Pictured: Tony Portz, Brandi Holst, and Bree Kilburg
at the construction site of the new bank in Maquoketa.
114 W. Main St. • Wyoming, IA
(563) 488-2211
321 Jackson St. • Olin, IA
(319) 484-2247
101 W. Broadway • Oxford Junction, IA
(563) 826-2231
102 E. Carlisle St.,
Maquoketa, IA
Citizens State Bank
76 Eastern Iowa Farmer | fall 2020 eifarmer.com