Wisconsin farmers are feeling the negative impact of swine flu. Farmers like Mike Salter of Black Creek, who says pork prices have dropped over ten percent this week already.
And Salter says there's growing concern over the loss of foreign trade because of the association of hogs with the name of the flu. Salter is a past president of the Wisconsin Pork Association. There are currently 700 pork producers in Wisconsin. Even though hog farming is a small piece of Wisconsin's agriculture sector, it does contribute 165 million dollars to the state's economy each year.
Hog farmers like Salter are concerned that the misnamed 'swine flu' may be sinking their profits unfairly. Says Salter, " We call it H-1-N-1 flu, which is not in the swine industry at all. There's no case of any pigs having it. It's not been transferred from any product that you eat!"
Indeed, the Department of Homeland Security and Agriculture has stopped using the term 'swine flu'.
To assure consumers of the safety of eating pork and pork products, many farmers like Salter like to point out their extensive efforts to keep their operations clean. Salter says his animals are kept secluded in their own pens, visitors are restricted, and he won't even allow feed trucks on his farm. Many hog farms also require decontamination before and after contact with their animals.
Salter says he speaks for many Wisconsin hog farmers when he says people have much more to fear from each other than hogs, because flu is transmitted through human contact. Even though he might not be able to discourage the use of the term 'swine flu", he hopes that consumers will at least understand they have nothing to fear from keeping pork on the menu.
