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Hogs feel drought's pinch
By Chris Welch, CNN
Washington, Iowa (CNN) - For Rachel and Dan Berdo and their four young children, hogs are everything: They're the source of nearly all of the family's income.
The couple from the small town of Washington are particularly worried this year because of the drought, considered the worst in a generation.
“Obviously it's unsettling not knowing exactly what the coming crop is going to look like,” Rachel Berdo said as she sat in the kitchen holding her baby, speaking over the sound of her three other little ones playing in the next room.
“Because that heavily influences what your coming pig decisions are going to be, what you’re upcoming household decisions are going to be.”
The Berdo family grows corn to feed to their hogs, but this year, there’s no telling what kind of corn harvest they’ll get. Farmers across the state and the rest of the Midwest are seeing significantly reduced yields. Some estimate they’ll get 30 to 60 bushels per acre, down from 150 to 200.
So if they don’t have a large enough harvest to keep their pigs fed, they’ll either have to purchase extra corn at a pretty penny because of the drought or reduce the number of hogs they keep.
“It’s definitely going to impact our family in more ways than one,” Rachel said.
“In general, it bothers me quite a bit as far as the long-term financial situation,” Dan Berdo said, standing next to one of their hog barns. “But I try not to let it eat at (me) day to day.”
Missouri farmer: Everyone will be affected by drought
In many ways, the drought could prove worse for livestock producers than for farmers. For example, corn and soybean farmers have the option of buying federal crop insurance. Roughly 90% of Iowans take advantage of that — it doesn’t cover everything, but it helps get them by until next years harvest.
But there is no equivalent federal insurance for livestock. So if hog or cattle producers can’t afford to purchase the higher priced corn feed, they’re essentially out of luck.
And that'll mean higher prices at supermarkets across the country. On average, food prices typically rise 1% overall for every 50% jump in corn prices, according to Richard Volpe, an economist for the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Analysts and economists predict that prices of beef, pork and poultry will jump the most, as corn is the main feedstock for chicken, cattle and pigs.
CNNMoney.com: Corn, soybean prices shoot up as drought worsens
CNNMoney.com: Drought's impact on small businesses
For now, the Bardos say all they can do is wait for harvest season before they’ll have a better idea of what they’ll be faced with.
Until then, they say, they pray and try to stay optimistic.
“When it starts to upset me, I remember that God’s got a plan,” Rachel said. “Maybe God’s plan doesn’t have us raising hogs in the future. But it’s going to happen regardless of if I’m mad about it or fretting about it.”
On Twitter
There is always a reason for everything why it happened the way it did. If raising hogs is getting expensive, switch to an organic vegetable field which requires less resources. It is healthier and cleaner and growing corn is only for human consumption.
How does that help in a drought? Growing vegetables organically that can't take the heat and won't yield a percent of the value in the same amount of space.
It takes more water to grow most veggies than it takes to grow corn.
You are truely clueless. An organic veggy garden? So how many tomatoes do you think it would take to replace this guys income off of hogs? 100k, 200k, half a million? Now imagine all the hog farmers in Iowa switching to organic 1 acre gardens. They might be able to get a GROSS income of 3-5 grand a year. I know this because I have a one acre garden and sell produce. But its a supplemental income, and a lifestyle, not a living wage.
I guess its just sad that people are so disconnected from reality.
A grilled cheese, really? Where do you think the grain comes from to make the bread? Where do you think the milk comes from to make the cheese? Farmers grown the grain and raise the cattle. A drought affects everything we eat!
Also, an organic vegetable garden will be just as affected by the drought as other crops. Being organic and vegetable does not make it immune from the lack of water.
Above!
Woohoo! No drought in North Carolina. Our pigs are big and juicy. This sounds like more money for me!
Mmmmm, bacon. It tatses so good, like mother nature's candy. What kind of pig knows karate? A pork chop!
🙂
Now these are some free ranging pigs! How happy they look in their 4×4 fenced in area.
How can you tell what size the pen is? I can't see the back side of the pen in the picture? And if part of the pen is in the shade can you blame them with the heat we have. If you saw pigs out side in this heat you would argue animal cruelty. Lose the agenda and wake up.
In hard times we all hurt in one way or another.lets be kind. in a drought we should remember what Ronald Reagan used to quote' read 2 chronicles 7 :14
Grill your fat ass, and make yourself a sandwich.
“Because that heavily influences what your coming pig decisions are going to be, what you’re upcoming household decisions are going to be.”
That "you're" up there ought to be a "your," Chris. Come on.
If there's a smaller population of pigs, we can expect higher prices of bacon McBurgers
I bet these are liberal hogs! If they are conservative hogs, they would have learnt to adapt to anything – Tea Party Saying!
You're correct, these are liberal hogs (pun intended). Their entire lives they lay about relying upon someone to supply their every want and need. And in the end, they are led to the slaughter.
True. If they were conservative hogs, one or two would claim all of what food and water there was for themselves, and the others would just die.
Liberal hogs eh? See how many of them are being housed, controled and confined and eventually slaughtered by just a couple of tea party masters? Wow what a comparison and it actually makes sense. With the tea party mentality – do what you have to do to succeed even if it's at the expense of the masses – that sounds about right and the main reason why President Obama will be re-elected.
What are you smoking banasi, the price of everything is going up. Who would even think of eating ham after looking at this.
I'm so glad that I recently stopped eating meat. Seeing these intelligent pigs crammed into barren, indoor pens is horrific. I hope these farmers DO stop farming animals but continue farming plants for human consumption. It's the only way to go for the future of our planet.
you're a nut job. people have been killing and eating hogs since time began. If hogs were really intelligent, they would devise some way to stop us from killing them. until then, i will proudly consume boston butt, ham, pork chops, pork shoulder, sausage, etc...
Thanks, Karen, for your viewpoint. Everybody's so busy making stupid jokes they don't even think about the poor animals. Mike, nice of you to call her a nut job. Being concerned about animal welfare doesn't make one a nut job. Insulting others for their viewpoint, however, makes one a troll.
There WILL be pork chops on my grill tonight
Banasi, truly what is wrong with you. If you eat at Bennigans surely you should know how to spell it.