The National Pork Producers Council along with 26 state pork organizations including South Dakota are urging USDA’s Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to implement enhancements to the Livestock Risk Protection insurance program.
South Dakota Pork Producers Council President Craig Andersen says the main thing they’re looking for would be help for producers in marketing their animals.
Their suggested changes would mitigate the impact of unexpected declines in hog values and unanticipated events like the COVID 19 pandemic. Andersen says they want coverage for 52 weeks of the year rather than the current 26 weeks and have the option of paying their premiums at the end of the year rather than the beginning.
Andersen says his groups joined the other 25 state pork groups and is hoping that will help in getting those changes approved.
Last year, more than 120 million hogs were marketed in the United States. Over the last 15 years, only once have more than 100,000 hogs fallen under LRP coverage due to program limitations.
