There is one major change to the USDA's Market Facilitation Program that will likely affect many pork Producers. Remember the USDA announced the Market Facilitation Program to help farmers caught with lower prices because of the trade war with China. When the program was announced, pork producers that owned pigs on August 1, 2018 would be eligible for a payment of $8 per pig, half now and possibly the other half in December. That would include all pigs from baby pigs, sows, boars and feeders.

After the program was rolled out an issue came up that the USDA determined was unfair. There were some pork producers that may have just moved pigs out of a finishing barn to the processor the last couple days of July. Then the barn was empty for a few days before the next group was moved in. So, the USDA changed the rules to let pork producers pick a day between July 12, 2018 and August 15, 2018. Certainly pork producers would pick the day when they had the most pigs in their barns!

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