As Canadian hog producers begin talking to their lenders about whether they qualify for government-guaranteed loans, their American counterparts are in Washington looking for a different kind of help.
National Pork Producers Council president Don Butler was on Capitol Hill Oct. 22 telling Congressmen that in the past two years, his industry has lost more than $5.3 billion (US) and he laid the blame on foreign market closures because of the H1N1 virus and the impact of biofuel production on feed prices.
He asked members of a congressional sub-committee to launch an economic analysis of the impact that corn-based ethanol production has had on the livestock industry. The United States government is considering increasing mandatory ethanol content in gasoline from 10 to 15 percent.
He also said Congress should allow ethanol import tariffs and a federal tax credit to expire.
Although there was no appeal for direct industry financial support, he said the U.S. government could help by increasing purchases of pork for federal food assistance programs, removing some surplus from the market. The U.S. department of agriculture recently spent $30 million to buy pork.
Butler also urged Congress to pressure foreign countries, particularly Russia and China, to open their borders to American pork. Border barriers were created after the flu pandemic was inappropriately linked to pigs as carriers.
And the NPPC president said Congress should quickly approve free trade deals with Columbia, Panama and South Korea “which would add greatly to producers’ bottom line.” As in Canada’s Parliament, free trade bills have been tied up in Congress for months.
Butler said producers have lost an average of $23 on each hog sold since late 2007. The result is growing foreclosures and farm bankruptcies.
“We are asking Congress and our government for some help,” he said.
