Washington - A crisis task force is being formed within the Agriculture Department to come up with ways to assist pork producers, struggling with their lowest prices in four decades.
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman announced the formation of the task force as one way the government is working to help hog farmers. Steps are also under way to speed millions of dollars of planned pork purchases.
“We've seen weaknesses in other markets but rarely have we seen weaknesses where the price fluctuations have been so rapid,” Glickman said. “This is a catastrophic problem.”
The Pork Crisis Task Force, made up of USDA officials, will recommend other actions that could help support hog prices.
The secretary also plans to meet with pork industry leaders on Monday to discuss the problem. He said he is especially anxious to question retailers at the meeting about why low farm prices have not been passed on to consumers.
Last month, the government said it would purchase $50 million worth of pork for the federal food assistance programs in an effort to boost prices.
But prices have still continued to slip because of an oversupply of hogs. In some parts of the country, prices have dropped to less than $10 per hundredweight.
On Monday, the head of the National Pork Producers Council and the 50 state leaders of the American Farm Bureau Federation, the nation's largest farming organization, each sent letters to Glickman asking for help.
“Never before have U.S. pork producers experienced such a devastating economic state,” said NPPC president Donna Reifschneider.
The Farm Bureau presidents wrote to Glickman that without immediate action, “the entire structure of the industry will be irreparably damaged.”
Glickman said the $50 million government pork purchase would be expedited to provide immediate relief, including a $3.1 million purchase of 4 million pounds this week. Pork purchases also probably will be included in an export package to Korea and other government agencies are being encouraged to increase their purchases of pork, he said.
The department also will soon conduct an internal review of concentration and consolidation within the entire livestock industry to see how it is affecting the pricing problem, Glickman said.
To help ease the pressure of loans, Glickman has ordered the Farm Service Agency to assist farmers applying for loans by basing pork prices on futures contracts rather than the current lower market prices. The agency also will soon allow some producers to shift payments due in 1999 to the end of their loan period.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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