High corn prices are hurting livestock producers
Published 10:02 am Friday, September 14, 2012
Hogs on the Curt Johnson farm near Jasper in southwest Minnesota are just about ready to sell. -- Submitted
By Mark Steil, Minnesota Public Radio News
JASPER — Agriculture experts are still measuring the affects of the drought on the farmers, but it’s likely that livestock producers will be the hardest hit.
The dry stretch has pushed the cost of corn and other major feed supplies into record territory, hurting practically any farmer raising animals. Hog farmers also are getting hit by falling pork prices.
That’s produced a steady stream of red ink for many of the state’s more than 4,000 hog producers. Among them is Curt Johnson, who sells about 20,000 pigs a year and is preparing to sell hogs at market next week — at a loss.
