Central Iowa Times

Iowa hog farmers are now suffering from dropping prices after hundreds of meat processing workers have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, according to the Des Moines Register.

The discovery has resulted in many Midwest processing plants slowing down production or closing completely.

The rapid slowing down of the industry could turn dark for pork producers. The Des Moines Register reports that farmers may now have to face the possibility of euthanizing large numbers of hogs that are now backed up on farms across the state.

Dermot Hayes, an Iowa State University agriculture economist, said farmers are about to face horrible choices due to the slowing down of the industry.

"Producers face horrible choices," Hayes told Des Moines Register.

The Des Moines Register reports that pork processing volume has shrunk by about 25%. The drop has crushed hog prices. Hog prices have dropped by about 50% since January. Iowa is the country's largest pork yielder. On average, Iowa has nearly 25 million pigs at any given time across the state.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said on April 21that he's heard the country has an estimated 100,000 pigs that should be moved to the slaughterhouse each day but aren't. 

"Apply that over 10 days, and with a million pigs, you’ve got a big problem," Grassley told Des Moines Register.

The Des Moines Register also reports that cattle farmers face the same losses and tough choices. However, cattle farmers have more flexibility to hold the bovine on their farms longer than pork farmers can hold hogs.

Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, told the Des Moines Register that destroying animals is "not what we do." Hill is an independent pork producer who owns a hog farm near Ackworth. He added that the farmers feel helpless.

"The thought of it causes a huge amount of anxiety," said Hill. "Farmers feel rather helpless."