As more and more large meat processing plants close amid the nation’s coronavirus pandemic, farmers across the country are running out of physical space for their pigs.
With slaughterhouses shuttered, hog farms became so crowded this week that many farmers have been forced to start killing their pigs en masse, the United Press International reported Thursday.
‘This is our biggest crisis ever’
“I really, really don’t want to kill my pigs,” said Howard Roth, president of the National Pork Producers Council. “But it is getting close here. I know there are farmers who have had to kill their pigs, farmers are aborting sows. It’s really awful.”
Roth, who raises and weans pigs in Wisconsin, added that in a typical week, the American pork industry kills 2.5 million pigs. But this week, that number will drop to 2 million, leaving a backup of 500,000 pigs.
“We were already backed up by about a half million. This is bad,” he said.
In Minnesota, 200,000 pigs could be killed, David Preisler, CEO of the Minnesota Pork Board, reported. He added that the impending slaughter is not for a lack of preparation. Farmers have prepared for a disease outbreak and many have opted to feed their hogs a high-fiber, low-calorie diet that slows down growth. But that works for only so long. – READ MORE
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