Catastrophic events can cause disruption in the supply chain in the United States. When these events impact agriculture industries we can see consequences that effect our on-farm processes. In the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, some processing plants that receive pigs from Michigan producers have experienced issues. This has resulted in the closure or limited processing capacity of several plants, in turn causing a holding of animals at farm sites.
Michigan producers have been preparing for this event and implementing management practices to address this disruption with as limited impact as possible. However, even as they employ every means possible to slow production and hold animals at the farm, Producers may still find themselves in an emergency where the only option becomes mass depopulation of animals. This page will serve as a resource for producers that are looking for options to address market disruptions caused by the closure or capacity limitations of processing plants.
The purpose of this webinar is to provide information and resources for our pork producers here in Michigan. Our hope is that this will help best position our producers to respond to industry disruption.
The Michigan Bodies of Deal Animals Act regulates the management of dead animals in Michigan. This law applies to all methods of disposal, even in emergency situations such as market disruption brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pork producers and their nutritionist should consider dietary changes (increased fiber, ground corn only, mineral salts or slight feed restrictions) to slow growth and keep hogs in the barn longer.
Assistance Available USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is offering financial and technical assistance to livestock producers for animal mortality disposal, resulting from impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.