Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois pork producers battling false perceptions about swine flu

Illinois pig farmer Kevin Webb normally receives four to eight calls a week from people interested in buying his prepackaged pork products.

But when the H1N1 flu strain, or the swine flu, began dominating the headlines, Webb did not receive a single such phone call.

"It was affecting me significantly last week," Webb said. "I usually receive good response after my weekly ad is placed in our local paper, but when word got out about swine flu people jumped the gun and got scared."

Throughout the U.S., the virus has taken a financial toll on pig farmers and producers. Lean hogs were trading for about 56 cents a pound Tuesday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, compared to about 74 cents a month ago.

"A 20-cent drop may not seem like that much, but as the pounds and number of pigs add up, it begins to shape up to be quite a loss for the farmer," Webb said.

Webb raises about 60 pigs without using steroids or antibiotics at Happy Hog Farm near Tamms, Ill., and has them processed at Fruitland American Meat. He inspects each pig before it is sold, a practice he said is vital to ensuring they are free of disease.

However, he said he thinks media reports have led to the misconception the virus is found in U.S. herds or that eating pork is a risk factor for contracting the swine flu.

"All this negative publicity on television is hard on me because that couldn't be farther from the truth," Webb said. "My animals come out here and play all day long and look happy like the name of my farm indicates. Most pig farms in the U.S. take precautionary measures so that pork will be safe to eat."

Several organizations, including the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Illinois and Missouri Farm Bureaus, have said eating pork products is safe.

Tyson Foods, one of the nation's top pork producers, is taking measures such as limiting visitors to its hog farms.

Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said in a statement that the company does not have any pork processing operations or hog farms in Mexico, where most swine flu cases were reported. The company has four processing plants in Iowa, one in Nebraska and one in Indiana. It also owns a subsidiary involved in live hog production in Missouri, eastern Oklahoma and northwest Oklahoma.

Dale Nedrow, owner of J&D Pig Farms in Benton, Mo., said each of the 20,000 pigs raised there annually is vaccinated and cleaned by his staff. His farm also uses a biosecurity program to keep unnecessary visitors out of the plant.

"I believe the pork produced and sold in the U.S. is very safe and of high quality," Nedrow said. "What most people don't realize is that most pigs are vaccinated for swine flu, so the likelihood of pigs getting the virus here in the U.S. is slim."

University of Missouri professor of agricultural economics Ronald Plain said calling the H1N1 virus the swine flu has caused a significant amount of monetary damage to the hog industry, hog packers and trucking. However, he believes efforts to identify the virus as H1N1 have begun to lessen the damage.

Plain said losses previously predicted at $460 million have lessened to $408 million. He expects that downward trend to continue.

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628

On the Net: farmingforyou.org

Pertinent addresses:

16194 Sycamore Road, Tamms, IL

2006 Route FF, Jackson, MO

238 County Road CV, Benton, MO