Dive Brief:

Even though processing plants are returning back to normal production levels, the pandemic is still causing financial and logistical challenges for pork producers expected to continue into next year. The industry's major trade group is urging congressional action to help struggling producers.

This month, lawmakers in the Senate introduced the Relief for Producers Act of 2020that would give compensation to farmers who are euthanizing their animals because of the pandemic. The NPPCsaid it "strongly supports this legislation" and is pushing for Congress to act quickly.The group also supported additional federal assistance being backed by Rep. Collin Peterson, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee.

"Its imperative that Congress act now, or else thousands of farmers could go out of business, leading to consolidation and contraction of the U.S. pork industry,"Howard Roth, a Wisconsin hog farmer who is NPPC's president, said in a statement.

The government has already issued some help to the industry.The U.S. Agriculture Department said it would spend$3 billion to buy fresh produce, dairy and meat that will be sent to food banks after the closure of foodservice and restaurants during the pandemic have significantly hurt demand.

This year has taken a drastic and dire turn for the pork industry after initial optimism. Facing hardship caused by trade disputes and labor shortages in recent years,U.S. pork farmers entered 2020 expecting to post a profit.But when the pandemic hit, processing plants started to shutter as coronavirus spread among workers, causing the supply chain to back up and leaving hog farmers with no where to send their animals.

The pandemic has infected thousands of plant workersin the meat industry and forced more than 40 plantsacross the country to temporarily close down or reduce production. In April,President Donald Trump issued an executive orderusing the Defense Production Act to keep facilities open and prevent shortages. Labor unions have strongly criticized the ordersaying it puts workers at risk, while industry groups, including the NPPC,praised the move for helping get the supply chain moving.

Despite improvements,this new analysis showed the backlog is still prevalent.Many producers have turned to euthanasia to quell the overcrowding on farms.The U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust division announced in Mayit wouldn't challenge the proposed efforts of the NPPCto work with the USDA to euthanize hogs because of the oversupply caused by the pandemic. The NPPCtold the DOJ that euthanizing potentially 700,000 hogs per week "will be unavoidable."Millions of chickens also have been killedas closures diminish demand for poultry.

As the pork industry continues to face challenges, the NPPC is hoping the proposed bill in Congress, which would compensate hog and poultry producers while increasing funding for animal health surveillance and laboratories, will pass and help struggling producers stay afloat.

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Pork producers face $5B in losses with surplus of hogs - Food Dive