NPPC Urges USDA to Address Pork Industry Crisis
US - Pork producers, who are losing an estimated $30 to $50 per hog, called on USDA to take steps that would address what the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) calls an “industry economic crisis.“NPPC leaders in a recent meeting with Ag Secretary Ed Schafer requested USDA purchase an additional 50.5 million pounds of pork for various federal food programs.
USDA this week responded to that request, announcing plans to purchase as much as $50 million of pork products for donation to donate the pork to child nutrition and other domestic food assistance programs.
“The action by USDA to buy additional pork will benefit America’s pork producers, the U.S. economy, and people who rely on the government’s various food programs,” said NPPC President Bryan Black.
U.S. pork producers in the past seven months have lost an estimated $2.1 billion. Lenders estimated some producers could lose half or more of the equity in their operations by year’s end, NPPC reported.
Phil Borgic, president of the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) and farmer from Nokomis, last week during an interview with FarmWeek discussed the impact higher input prices and mounting financial losses are having on the pork industry.
“I’ve been saying all along the pork industry will make money. I just don’t know what it (the industry) will look like,” Borgic said. “I don’t know how many pigs we’ll be producing and how many farms will be left.”
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