Pork producers, industry leaders and bankers have put on hold
their efforts to bring
300 jobs back into south Georgia.

The group is working to reopen a pork processing plant in
Moultrie. But industry
competition seems to be working against them.

"All of our plans to start the plant up and provide a
local processor for Georgia
producers are on hold," said David Bishop, an animal
scientist with the University of
Georgia Extension Service.

The only large processor left in Georgia closed down in early
June. Many figured that
would be the end of the Georgia pork industry.

Directly and indirectly, Georgia hog farmers support about
3,400 full-time jobs across
the state. Extension economists figure the pork industry creates
a $500 million to $1
billion impact on the state’s economy.

There’s too much at stake to give up easily.

"Right now, the best approach for this agreement is a
cooperative effort between
the Georgia Pork Producers Association and banks in the
area," Bishop said. "The
farmers decided they wanted to keep pork in Georgia and make it
profitable, too."

Under an agreement with bankers, Georgia pork farmers will
partially own the only
volume slaughterhouse in Georgia. Bishop said it’s also only one
of three in the nation
owned in part by farmers.

Bishop said the new partners are working to open a slaughter
facility and later add a
processing wing. They hoped to buy an equipped building in
Moultrie. But a large Virginia
pork processor has obtained an option to buy it.

"We’re back to square zero on our building," Bishop
said. "But that
gives us time to get more producer and agribusiness commitment
to raise the high-quality
hogs it will take to keep us viable in an ever-changing
industry."

Recent years have taught Georgia pork producers some tough
lessons. Some have learned
them well. Bishop said others still have a lot to learn.

"Part of staying in business is responding to your
customers," he said.
"They told us they wanted leaner pork. And we’re working to
give it to them. But it
may take up to two years for farmers to change their breeding
programs to raise leaner
hogs."

A cooperative effort between the UGA College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences
and the GPPA helps Georgia farmers produce pork with less than
half the fat of just 15
years ago. They do it with selective breeding and careful
nutrition and management.

"Lower-fat meat might end up costing shoppers one or two
cents more per
pound," Bishop said. "But think of it as quality
insurance. It helps make sure
you can get high-quality meat every time you want it."

Farmers can produce the pork people want. But if they don’t
make money at it, they can’t keep doing it.

The new producer group is negotiating with large farms to
provide the quality
Georgia-grown hogs they’ll need for their processing lines.
Until a Georgia slaughterhouse
reopens, though, the state’s farmers don’t have a reliable
market for their hogs.

"Part of the problem when the Moultrie packer closed was
that it drove down the
price farmers got for their hogs," Bishop said. "They
couldn’t be certain they could even
sell their hogs without a nearby packing plant."

When farmers have to ship their hogs to out-of-state
slaughterhouses, they get lower
prices for them. They lose money, too, as their hogs lose weight
during the truck ride to
distant packers.

After the hogs are shipped out-of-state for processing, the
pork is shipped back in to
Georgia wholesale or retail markets.

"The security of having a pork slaughterhouse and
packing facility back in south
Georgia is especially important to hog farmers," Bishop
said. "But it’s also nice to know it’s providing security
in the
form of jobs to a lot of people in south Georgia and across the
state."