Canadian hog producers are in a financial crisis as prices plunge during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Market losses range between 30 and 50 dollars per hog.
The chair of the Canadian Pork Council, Rick Bergman says the federal government needs to provide an immediate cash injection of 20 dollars per hog. The money will be used to pay bills, feed pigs and continue production.
Bergman says Canadians risk seeing food shortages if the government does not step forward with support for farmers.
“It’s not our job as producers to tell them how they should administrate and help us,” said Bergman. “Our job is to ensure they understand the crisis that’s occurring right now on the farm.”
Bergman says it is not an issue of too many hogs—but one of a shortage of processing capacity in Canada and the United States.
He adds market weight hogs can’t be kept on maintenance rations like cattle.
