News
Iowa launches disposal assistance program for pork producers
The Iowa Department of Agriculture has launched a disposal assistance program to help pork producers who are being forced to euthanize pigs due to COVID-19 supply chain disruptions.
“That’s an economically and emotionally stressful thing, so what we developed was a program to help offset some of the costs associated with the disposal of those animals,” says Iowa ag secretary Mike Naig. “It’s such an economic hardship to producers. They’re losing the value of the animal and they’re having to play additional costs to dispose of them.”
The program offers producers 40 dollars per approved animal to help cover some of the disposal costs for market-ready hogs.
Iowa State University estimates that, as of mid-May, approximately 600-thousand pigs in Iowa were unable to be harvested.
AUDIO: Mike Naig
