The National Pork Producers Council is requesting urgent assistance from Congress to help producers weather the COVID 19 crisis. President Howard A.V. Roth says many U.S. hog farmers won’t survive without quick financial assistance through the next COVID 19 relief package.
He says Congress also needs to pass the Relief for Producers Act introduced in the Senate and backed by Iowa’s Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst. Roth says the bill would compensate producers who’ve had to euthanize their animals.
Dr. Steve Meyer, economist with Kerns and Associates says the U.S. pork economy is now facing a disaster.
Meyer says roughly two million hogs are still backed up on farms due to the COVID 19 pandemic which is likely to cause more pigs to be euthanized to prevent suffering due to overcrowding.
