The National Pork Producers Council is about to hold a conference call on the "devastating financial crisis" hog farmers are facing. Saying "immediate government intervention is required." I'll tweet what I can from the call in this thread.

Howard AV Roth, hog farmer in Wisconsin and NPPC prez, said "hogs are backing up on our farms." Hog prices means farmers lose $37 per pig right now. "Farmers are already exiting the business." Asks for $1 billion in pork purchases and restoration of trade with China.

NPPC getting pressed on whether they should lobby Trump to drop tariffs against China. Declining to comment, saying China needs pork and "it seems to us if they're going to meet their Phase 1 commitments to the USA, the easiest way to do that is to buy U.S. pork."

Q. Is it cheaper to euthanize hogs right now? When will it be?

Roth: "Absent immediate and significant government intervention, sadly it's true, euthanizing is a topic that's going to come up on farms."

Q. Can you give us a better sense of what portion of hog farmers are at risk and how quickly we could see them going out of business?

NPPC's Nick Giordano: "very significant risk" -- farmers at "tip of spear" in trade war. Already hurting before COVID. $5b lost 3/10 to 4/10.

Neil Dierks, CEO of NPPC: "The food service side of our business, which accounts for about a quarter of all pork, shut down." Ribs, pork.

I wrote about this last week: https://www.startribune.com/with-restaurants-closed-a-bacon-backup-is-building-in-minnesota-and-prices-are-plunging/569470222/

Dierks: "some plants are closed" because of COVID and pork is a time-constrained business.

Wrote about that in some depth last week as well, when I covered the Smithfield shutdown: https://www.startribune.com/sioux-falls-pork-plant-a-crucial-destination-for-minnesota-hogs-closes-over-covid-19/569508672/

Dierks: "The pipeline's full and we have some pork in cold storage so the consumer shouldn't worry too much but it creates a terrible situation on the farm."

Dermot Hayes, ISU prof: "Several weeks, possibly months of supply" in storage with packers. Packing capacity cut in only limited way. The only issue is of course if more packing plants go down.

Giordano: "The crisis today is on the farm, not in the grocery store."

Dierks: Tyson plant in Columbus Junction, IA, now in 2nd week of not operating. Smithfield in Sioux Falls down of course. Other plants not operating at full capacity.

"At any moment, we could lose another plant." Calling on gov't to work through procedures to get hogs processed.

They're asking for a series of government interventions, including pork purchases for food banks, and more availability of emergency loans.

Q. How widespread is euthanizing baby pigs for farmers who don't have room in their barns?

Roth: "If we do not get government assistance immediately, if people are euthanizing, that's going to soar dramatically."

Dierks: "Every pork producer's situation is different" and nobody wants to waste pigs, but farmers "may choose to euthanize."

Giordano: costs more to feed pigs than you get for selling them right now