Pork Producers Struggle With Inputs Costs

US - The ethanol and biodiesel boom may have lifted prices for crop farmers but pork producers who have to deal with high feed costs say they are having difficulty feeding their animals.
calendar icon 26 February 2008
clock icon 2 minute read

A report in the Carolina-Virginia Farmers say that the situation also means that pig producers are finding it difficult to meet demand; supplying food that eventually makes its way into grocery stores for human consumption.

"Right now, with the price of corn and some of the other issues that are coming up concerning 'food or fuel,' it is a matter of getting through 2008 and into 2009," said Jake Barrow of LL Murphrey Co., a pork operation in Farmville, North Carolina.

He says that the ethanol industry, intentional or not, is having an impact on the food industry right now. The high price of corn, bean meal, wheat is a big concern of all producers."

Steve Meyer, a marketing specialist and president of Paragon Economics in Des Moines, Iowa, was a featured speaker on the opening day of the Pork Council's two-day Annual Meeting this month. He told producers changes are inevitable and they are just going to have to deal with higher feed costs.

"We can't wait for US$2.50 or US$3 corn again," Meyer said. "Probably US$4 corn is going to be a pretty reasonable price going forward in an ethanol world."

To read the full story click here.

© 2000 - 2024 - Global Ag Media. All Rights Reserved | No part of this site may be reproduced without permission.