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Peterson calls on JBS Worthington to help farmers depopulate pigs

The chairman of the House Ag Committee says a JBS meatpacking plant in southwest Minnesota has begun euthanizing pigs.

During a news conference Wednesday, Congressman Collin Peterson said nationwide there are 160,000 market-ready hogs per day with no place to go because of packing plant closures.

“We’ve got a big problem, and that’s why I’ve been working on this for the last week. A way to try to help with this situation by using this plant in Worthington to do something it normally doesn’t do, and that is kill the hogs and figure out where to put them, in the landfill or whatever.”

He says in the meantime President Trump ordered packing plants to remain open.

“So until the plant gets opened, we’ve got to figure out a way to deal with some of these hogs that have no room, no place to be. And it is very difficult to do, (and) almost impossible to do on the farm.”

Peterson says while USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service does not have the authority to compensate producers who depopulate hogs, Ag Secretary Perdue told him the President’s executive order could change that.