Pig farmers in rural Minnesota are in fear of losing their farms if the pork processing plants don’t reopen in the coming weeks, as some tell DailyMail.com they face euthanizing thousands of animals due to the shuttered facilities.
In a series of exclusive DailyMail.com interviews, three pig farmers reveal the worries and the obstacles they are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Randy Wiertsema, 56, a third generation farmer from Rushmore, Minnesota. told DailyMail.com he is weeks away from killing several of his healthy pigs.
‘The pigs I send to the processing plant I get around $150 a head. If I have to euthanize them, I’m losing out on the money, plus whatever it’s going to cost to dispose of the carcasses.’
The last time he sold a pig was two weeks ago, and he says if the plants don’t open this week, he’ll be euthanizing several of his market-ready hogs in a matter of days.
Another pig farmer has already faced the same horrific decision, Brad Lonneman, 37, a 5th generation farmer from nearby Adrian said he had to euthanize 145 piglets, losing up to $20,000.
Read the rest here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8288969/Pig-farmers-tell-plight-face-euthanizing-thousands-hogs.html