One of the biggest topics we heard, last week, at World Pork Expo was about line speed at processors around the country. It is a source of stress for the hog industry, however, what does it mean for Iowa pork production?
Audio: Full interview with Trent Thiele, an Iowa pork producer
The line speed issue has reared its head thanks to a federal district court ruling in Minnesota which stated that the elimination of line speed rules during the Clinton Administration was a detriment to worker safety. This rule applies to New Swine Inspection System (NSIS) plants. NPPC President Jen Sorenson, of Iowa Select Farms, talks about the impact this will have on production.
Two and a half percent does not sound like a lot, but let?s do some math.
On any given day, the hog slaughter number is estimated between 430,000 ? 470,000+ hogs per day. For the sake of arguing, daily fluctuations, and simpler math, let us call it an even 450,000 per day. A 2.5% reduction is the loss of 11,250 hogs processed per day and 78,500 per week. This is at a time when the processing plants are trying to get back to full capacity and reduce the backlog of hogs after the COVID-19 pandemic. This essentially creates a bottleneck inside a log jam.
Dermot Hayes of Iowa State University says that this ?small reduction? means a loss of about $80 million to small hog farms in the United States.
Former Iowa Pork Producers President and Elma, Iowa producer Trent Thiele says that his operation still markets a percentage of their hogs privately. For him, it means that there will be an oversupply of the open market hogs. This situation is going to be a burden that will be felt disproportionately by small producers.
Thiele says that this is not the fault of the packers. What is at fault is misconceptions surrounding worker safety at the plants. He says that worker safety is a priority for all hog producers and that studies are showing that workers are safer now under these current operations.
Thiele says that many small farmers, like himself, are looking at what their options are to weather the situation. The choices aren?t very easy. They are trying to find more contracts for their hogs
The bottom line is that we are going to see an even further reduction in smaller, private hog producers. The difficulty they will face trying to find contracts to sell hogs will force many of them out of business.
Thiele says every producer is essential to the marketplace. Many of them are filling a demand in a niche market. To lose a supplier of any size is a detriment to the whole pork industry.
