Though hurricane force winds had knocked the power out in Pat McGonegle’s home in Urbandale on Aug. 10, the CEO of the Iowa Pork Producers still provided a webinar on the recovery of Iowa’s pork industry since the beginning of COVID-19.
McGonegle said when the coronavirus first began, and some of the pork processing plants were shut down, it had been estimated that Iowa pork producers were going to have to euthanize an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 hogs. That presented a grave concern for the loss of the animals, and environmental concerns for the disposal of the carcasses. Processing had declined 40 percent in Iowa, where normally 150,000 pigs per day are processed. He stated that worker safety in processing plants was of paramount concern.
Slowing pigs' weight gain, and some unique ways to use the mounting backlog supply of market hogs curtailed the projected number of euthanized hogs down to an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 head, about a fourth of the earlier projections.
With processing down dramatically because of temporary plant closings, hogs began to back up in hog producers’ facilities. “We had two or three plant closings at one time throughout Iowa,” said McGonegle.
“ISU helped producers to slow the pigs’ growth down, we had to go in the opposite direction. We haven’t had a lot of practice in slowing pigs' growth down,” McGonegle said. “IDALS Coordination Center greatly helped as a unified tool for producers. The Resource Coordination Center helped hundreds of producers address issues, including addressing mental stress. Other states used Iowa’s Model to help their producers.”
Slowing pigs' weight gain, and some unique ways to use the mounting backlog supply of market hogs curtailed the projected number of euthanized hogs down to an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 head, about a fourth of the earlier projections.
Even though weight gains were slowed so processors could get back up and running, some hogs were reaching market weights or beyond. With live hogs weighting over 340 pounds, processing plants can have equipment problems and worker issues because of the heavier carcasses.
“One of the blessings were lockers and other meat businesses who could process the overweight pigs. Pork producers were donating pigs so they didn’t have to euthanize them. Iowa producers donated pigs to food banks and neighbors,” said McGonegle. He stated that some of the state’s hunter help to process some of the carcasses, and the use of social media helped to connect producers with those who could use their live pork. That included shipping hogs to other states.
Speaking about the current conditions in the pork industry, McGonegle said that processing capacity is down about 5 percent. He does believe that most of the heavier hogs have now been processed but added, “USDA’s Pig Crop Report showed we still have an ample supply of hogs.”
He stated that the pandemic has impacted Iowa Pork Producers in both negative and positive ways. On the positive side producers and processors are beginning to dialog about issues. “We also learned a lot about animal disease preparedness. We are better prepared than we were 60 to 90 days ago,” said McGonegle.
“Producers have had a significant negative impact too. Producers were losing from $20 to $50 per head. The current negotiated hog market has flaws. We don’t have it worked out, but we want to help producers to have options out there. We have concerns about processors’ actions and we hope to have discussions with producers.” McGonegle said his organization still wants to protect the states’ independent swine producers.
“There still is a ray of hope out there. Exports are on a record pace and 25 percent of our production is exports. Exports to China have done pretty well. We have a good supply of pork, and processors here in Iowa. Because of the actions of ISU and the Iowa Department of Agriculture we saved thousands of pigs,” added McGonegle.
The webinar was hosted by Brenda Schmitt of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
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August 26, 2020 at 06:12AM
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CEO of Iowa Pork Producers focused on recovery - Mason City Globe Gazette
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