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NPPC president says ‘corn contingency plan’ deserves consideration
The head of the National Pork Producers Council says a call for a “corn contingency plan” by Iowa pork producers deserves serious consideration.
The Iowa group is concerned about a possible shortage of corn in 2012 should the 2011 crop fall short of expectations. They suggest that, if the corn stocks-to-use ratio falls below five percent, a plan for rationing corn among the major end users—livestock, biofuels and exports—should be in place.
NPPC president Sam Carney of Adair, Iowa says he understands those concerns.
“You can’t starve the animals,” Carney says. “We can shut other things down—do something different—we’ve just got to make sure we have enough feed to feed the livestock so we have an adequate food supply here in the U.S. until we get the next crop in.”
Carney says he would hope that the end users could come up with their own plan, before getting the federal government involved.
“We’re just going to have to see if we can get all the producers to sit at the table and work something out,” he says. “I’m hoping we can do it and try not to have any other involvement from outside parties.”
Carney says one of his concerns is that, if corn supplies become too tight, there could be a “knee-jerk” reaction from the feds, such as a limit or ban on corn exports. He says that is something pork producers do not want to see happen.
The contingency plan resolution will be discussed at the National Pork Forum in early March.
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