Pork producers concerned about drought's effects - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Hog farmers are being forced to sell off their livestock as feed prices skyrocket due to drought.

At the State Fair swine barn Mike Fagg, a pork producer form Clay City, is all ears because of the poor ears of his corn crop.

As he heard the bids for a hog, he said, "Well, it's a little lower than we've seen in the last year or so."

Mike blames the drought. A devastated corn crop that will force more producers to sell off their herds because they can't afford to feed them.

The fair auction isn't the typical livestock auction. Folks buying there are supporting 4-H. But the purchase prices here may be an early barometer of what happens in the livestock market.

Fagg says producers ask themselves now, "Are you going to be even able to get the feed, the corn, enough to feed the operation? Anybody that's got a quite sizeable operation, it's really going to be a problem."

He is thinking of selling some of his hogs too.

"We cut way back. Fifty percent," said Russ Alty.

He says with the drought cutting the corn crop, corn has doubled in price. He couldn't keep up with his feed bill, so half of his hogs had to hoof it to market.

"It's gonna be scary," he said

"The losses are going to be large for the livestock and animal sector for the next 12 months. That means we're going to see discouragement. There will be some reductions in herds and some liquidations in herds," said Dr. Chris Hurt with Purdue University.

"There will be a lot of people unloading them and flooding the market," Alty said.

If lots of animals go to market at once, that could mean a temporary drop in some grocery prices, but Hurt warns that "higher food prices are down the road for 2013-2014, reducing the supply of meat, milk and eggs for us consumers, we're going to have higher prices."

Back at the fair, Fagg says for pork producers who only see each other once a year, the drought and its effect on their herds has them all talking.