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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LIVESTOCK PRODUCER ASSISTANCE FOR COVID-19 DAMAGES ACT
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HON. JIM HAGEDORN
of minnesota
in the house of representatives
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Mr. HAGEDORN. Madam Speaker, I rise today because America's livestock
industry is in crisis.
Across southern Minnesota and in many areas of our nation, pork
producers are especially in trouble. Packing plant closures and
disruptions and other reverberations associated with COVID-19 and the
pause in our economy have depressed futures markets and made it
impossible to process hogs. Many of our producers are being forced to
destroy animals and not even use the meat for our food supply.
To mitigate production losses incurred by our pork producers, this
week I introduced the ``Livestock Producer Assistance for COVID-19
Damages Act.'' My legislation is designed to augment the United States
Department of Agriculture's existing Emergency Assistance for
Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm Raised Catfish program to cover income
losses for farmers and producers who have been unable to market
livestock due to packing plant closures or reduced operations beginning
on April 19, 2020.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, our livestock farmers in southern
Minnesota and throughout the nation have been pushed to the brink of
insolvency. This represents a direct threat to our nation's food supply
and the vibrancy of the economy and our rural communities.
During this pause in our economy, restaurants have been largely shut
down, which has caused reduced demand and dramatically lower futures
markets for pork, beef and other cuts of meat. On top of that, we have
had packing plant disruptions and closures that have created an
environment where market ready hogs cannot even be processed and
distributed into the food chain.
Because the pork industry uses an in-time delivery system, hogs
cannot be stored or pastured like other traditional crops and animals.
Until meat packing plants return fully online, many pork producers are
left with no place to market their hogs, leaving euthanasia, rendering
or composting as some of the only options for handling potentially
millions of pigs.
The outlook is especially challenging for independent farmers who own
and raise their own livestock. In the past few months, hog prices
plunged 26 percent, further compounding challenges for livestock
producers to develop additional options for selling their hogs.
In Minnesota, our farmers make huge contributions to the state's
economy. According to a study by the University of Minnesota, current
disruptions in the pork supply chain, coupled with the current 15
percent unemployment rate, could result in an estimated loss of $660
million in economic activity in our state.
The researchers also concluded that a 15 percent drop in hog
production would lead to an estimated loss of 2,100 jobs.
Because pork and livestock producers are suffering huge losses,
financial and otherwise, and through no fault of their own, I urge my
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this
bill. We must stand with our family farmers, and in so doing defend the
interests of our economy, rural communities and America's food supply.
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