IARN — Meat processing capacity has improved within recent weeks, in part because of the Defense Production Act. Yet, shortfalls remain, leaving pork producers in limbo.
United States pork producers are grateful for the one-point-six-billion dollars allocated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
However, it falls short of what is needed to sustain thousands of impacted pork producers, according to Howard “AV” Roth, president of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC).
“The Senate must act quickly to support U.S. pork producers who remain in crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic. Much of what has made the United States the finest pork producing nation in the world and afforded a rural lifestyle relished by thousands of hog farmers and their families is in jeopardy,” Roth said.
National Pork Producers Council members and staff today called on the U.S. Senate to create a companion bill, which includes provisions outlined in the HEROES Act. Roth says a move such as this would “provide much needed relief to American farmers.”
“These provisions represent the lifeline pork producers need, if we are to maintain a highly competitive and innovative pork production system in the United States,” Roth said. “Without them, we will see thousands of hog farmers liquidate their family farms, leading to a more contract and consolidated industry. That’s not good for the American consumer or rural economy.”
United States pork producers face a collective five-billion dollar loss for the remainder of the year, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
