Poultry, Livestock Producers Could See Relief From Latest Stimulus Package

Jan 22, 2021

By Seth Bodine

Congress has assigned $13 billion in the new COVID-19 relief bill to help farmers who have been affected by the pandemic. Those dollars include $1 billion for contract poultry and livestock growers, and would cover up to 80% of losses.

Farmers could receive $20 per acre for commodity crops like corn that have fallen in price by at least five percent.

John Newton is the chief economist for the American Farm Bureau, and says for many, the money is a lifeline.

"It costs a lot of money to put a crop in the ground every single year," said Newton. "When you lose your market immediately this helps them meet the needs of their lender, pay any outstanding obligations, they may have [and] pay their employees."

Newton said the aid is needed but it’s too soon to say if it's enough.

"I think it's a little early to make that judgment on whether or not it's enough, I think there are certainly producers that that still haven't got assistance that definitely need it," said Newton.

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Video: What Happens When Pigs Adapt to High Soybean Meal Diets? - Gustavo Lima

In this special rerun episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Gustavo Lima, PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University, discusses how grow-finish pigs respond to high soybean meal diets. He explains the initial drop in feed intake, changes in backfat, later adaptation, energy efficiency, amino acid utilization, and the rise in nitrogen excretion at higher inclusion levels. Listen now on all major platforms!

Click here to read the full research article: https://academic.oup.com/jas/article/...

“Once they got adapted to the diet, they can handle higher levels of inclusion of soybean meal.”

Meet the guest: Gustavo Lima / gustavo-lima-a9867127 is a PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University whose work focuses on swine nutrition, ingredient characterization, energy metabolism, caloric efficiency, and applied data analysis. With more than 15 years of experience in swine production across Latin America, Gustavo also brings expertise in environmental control, performance evaluation, barn ventilation, and grow-finish housing. Learn more from Gustavo Lima on The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, available on all major platforms.