Pork so cheap they're giving it away

Pork prices are so low, farmers will tell you they're practically giving their pigs away. On Tuesday in Mankato they'll go all the way.

Mitch Truebenbach is the driving force behind a free community pork lunch to draw attention to the worst collapse in the pork market in decades.

"It's just dire straits right now," said Truebenbach who raises hogs in both Nicollet County, Minnesota and South Dakota.

The free pork lunches will be served at Mankato Harley-Davidson Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and are available to all comers.

A swine crisis meeting will be held for pork producers at 1pm at the Best Western motel across Highway 169 from the pork feed.

The collapse in pork profitability began nearly two years ago with skyrocketing feed prices and worsened with the onslaught of the H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu.

Eating pork does not transmit the virus, but that perception further hobbled an already weak market, particularly in foreign countries responsible for 20 percent of U.S. pork sales.

"Mexico was our second largest export customer," said David Preisler, executive director of the Minnesota Pork Producers Association, "and there we're seeing drops of 30 to 40 percent of exports, compared to a year ago."

Preisler says a pig that costs a farmer $135 to bring to market is now selling for $115.

"And so it's like going to work and not only not getting paid, but paying your boss to show up."

As farmers burn through their equity, bankers are beginning to warn pork producers they cannot run up their debts indefinitely.

"Within the next 30 to 60 days, I'm assuming we're probably going to lose another 30 percent of our producers," says Truebenbach.

Truebenbach hopes the free pork lunches will remind consumers they play a role in the health of the pork industry too.

"All we're asking is to try to get our consumers back," he says.

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