May 27, 2020

US' Iowa to support farmers who euthanise hogs amid crisis

The US state of Iowa will become the first state to give financial aid to farmers who must dispose of hogs euthanised because of the COVID-19 crisis, the state's agriculture department said Tuesday, reported Reuters.

Farmers have killed pigs and chickens as the pandemic shuts or slows operations at slaughterhouses and upends the food supply chain, leaving producers without markets for their animals, room to keep them or money to feed them.

The agriculture department of Iowa, which produces about a third of US pigs, requested US$24 million to help farmers pay to dispose of their hogs, spokeswoman Keely Coppess said. The money will come from the state's portion of federal coronavirus relief funds. The final amount distributed to farmers will depend on how many apply for aid and how much money the department receives, Coppess said.

The payments will be the latest financial assistance for the agriculture sector. President Donald Trump last month announced a separate US$19 billion relief program to help US farmers cope with the impact of the coronavirus.

Iowa's payout offers farmers US$40 for each hog they dispose of that was ready for slaughter and weighed at least 225 pounds, according to the state agriculture department. A veterinarian must confirm the animals faced "impending welfare issues" before being euthanised, the department said.

The payments are not enough to cover all of farmers' costs for raising a hog. US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue last week said the Trump administration would provide aid to producers who euthanised livestock but added that details were still being studied.