Washington - With pork producers hit by record low prices, the head of their organization is asking hog farmers to take the unusual step of lobbying lawmakers for federal help -- including direct cash payments.
“Hogs are literally worth almost zero,” Donna Reifschneider, president of the National Pork Producers Council, said Friday. “We cannot wait or there will be no U.S. pork industry to save if this continues even for a few more weeks.”
Reifschneider urged hog farmers to call members of Congress as well as their governors and state agriculture secretaries to push the Agriculture Department for more assistance. The industry is reeling from its lowest prices in more than 40 years because of an oversupply of hogs.
Reifschneider said the industry needs an immediate cash infusion, such as direct payments and guaranteed loans. Although Congress is not in session for action like this, USDA already has some authority, she said. “We think they have the ability to do quite a few things.”
The call to action is unusual because the livestock industry as a whole traditionally has bucked the notion of any government subsidies, unlike other sectors of agriculture like corn and wheat.
“Pork producers have never asked for government aid,” Reifschneider said. “For (the council) to suggest this kind of action is unprecedented, but these are unheard-of times.”
Many producers agreed. “If they want any pork producers left, they're going to have to do something,” said Mark McDowell of Hampton, Iowa. He said any aid should have limits so large farm operations do not get the bulk of the money.
Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said Thursday he had formed a pork crisis task force that would make recommendations to help the industry. He also said he would accelerate a planned $50 million government pork purchase to help prices.
Glickman is set to meet Monday with pork industry leaders, including packers and retailers. He has said it will take the entire industry to end the crisis.
The pork producers also want the government to increase slaughter capacity, reduce imports of Canadian hogs, increase government pork purchases and support a humanitarian lift of 300,000 live hogs to Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which are recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Mitch.
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