990834 Candidates Urged to Support Pork Recovery PlanAugust 14, 1999Des Moines, IA - National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) President John McNutt in an open letter challenged presidential candidates to stand up for pork producers by supporting a recovery plan and lobbying Congress for its passage. “We have heard a lot of platitudes and seen a lot of concern expressed by presidential candidates in the last few weeks,” McNutt said. “However, this plan is not about generalities -- it is about guaranteeing a future for independent pork producers in America. We want to know which candidates will pledge their support for this agenda and will lobby members of their party for its passage when Congress returns to work in September.” McNutt, a producer from Iowa City, Iowa, pointed out that America's pork producers have lost an estimated $4 billion in equity during the past 20 months and economic prospects continue to worsen in the face of persistent low market hog prices. University of Missouri economists predict that up to one-third of all pork producers nationwide could lose their hog operations in 1999 without some form of federal economic assistance. On August 4, the Senate passed a $7.4 billion aid package that contained $350 million for all livestock and dairy producers. “That won't provide the cash flow assistance to keep anyone in business for long,” McNutt said. The package pork producers are asking presidential candidates to support includes: A one-time-only, direct cash infusion based on sales during the last quarter of 1998, with a $50,000 payment limitation applying. The payments, $600 million, should be available to all producers, regardless of size, exactly like payments to grain farmers. The Small Hog Operations Program (SHOP) and the FY 1999 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill provided direct cash payments for economic loss assistance to pork producers, totaling approximately $150 million. While smaller producers benefited from the funds, McNutt said that pork producers whose production accounts for the majority of the hogs raised in America have not yet qualified for any cash assistance program. A second humanitarian assistance package for Russia. The recently completed shipment of 50,000 tons of pork to Russia helped spark a small rally in hog prices. Another aid package, of at least 100,000 metric tons, for shipment in the fall or winter, would help reduce cold storage stocks and boost prices during a time of expected high supplies. A Humanitarian Inventory Assistance program, with the product being donated to needy countries. McNutt said this would help reduce the breeding herd now and bring much needed equilibrium to the hog market. Under this plan, USDA would purchase hogs from pork producers bidding production into the program. Successful bidders would have to operate at reduced production levels for a prescribed period of time. Packers would be allowed to process the animals during non-work hours (weekends, nights, etc.). All animals would be processed into carcasses, specific cuts or canned product for humanitarian distribution, thereby minimizing the impact on the domestic market. For the long-term, McNutt said producers need support for a plan to form national cooperatives as well as to conduct an economic analysis of the feasibility of building and operating, processing and marketing operations. The USDA Undersecretary for Rural Development has pledged both technical and cost- share assistance in order to help pork producers in this endeavor. “This action must be taken to give independent pork producers a chance to capture more of the total value of the hogs they grow,” McNutt said. McNutt said USDA should be urged to immediately step up purchases of pork and pork products under Section 32 and/or other domestic breakfast/school lunch feeding programs. USDA made record purchases of pork in 1998. However, in terms of government purchases, pork continues to lag behind both beef and poultry in volume and value, he said. Full funding for the Market Access Program (MAP). MAP is a vital element of U.S. producers' efforts to provide foreign customers with information regarding the quality, safety and wholesomeness of U.S. pork. MAP funded first time ever promotions with retail chains in South and Central American countries. While MAP is authorized at $250 million per year, funding has been stalled at $90 million for the past several years. Pork producers believe MAP should be funded at the maximum $250 million level which will boost foreign demand for U.S. pork and help raise domestic hog prices. Increased funding for guaranteed loan programs. Because of unprecedented demand, significant additional funding is desperately needed for the FSA Guaranteed Farm Ownership (FO), Operating Loan (OL) and the Interest Assistance programs for pork producers. “Many long-time professional, efficient pork producers have fallen by the wayside in the past 20 months,” McNutt said. “We believe this plan will stem that tide. We ask for your support and your promise to contact Republicans in Congress who will be part of the conference committee on the Agriculture Appropriations bill and urge their support as well.”
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