Maschhoff speaks out on trade war’s impact on U.S. pork industry
CARLYLE — As the trade war heats up, the U.S. pork industry has been targeted by both China and Mexico. These tariffs have the potential to erase $18 per head, or $2.2 billion annually, from the U.S. pork industry’s value, said Ken Maschhoff, co-owner and board chairman of The Maschhoffs,
Maschhoff has been tapped on multiple occasions to act as a spokesperson for the U.S. pork industry. His interviews have appeared on numerous media outlets in recent days.
According to National Pork Producers Council, a total of 60,000 U.S. pork producers market more than 115 million hogs annually. Approximately 25 percent of U.S. pork is exported. As tariffs restrict market access that means the pork value from 28.75 million hogs is at risk. Along with that value, the 550,000 jobs in the pork industry could be at risk also.
“The U.S. pork industry is extremely efficient,” Maschhoff says. “As a result, our product is high-quality, cost-effective and highly-desired across the globe.”
Maschhoff, like the majority of U.S. farmers, is an advocate for free trade. He estimates the recent tariffs could cost the family business nearly $100 million per year, based on annual sales of 5.4 million market hogs.
“When we have Free Trade Agreements in place, they work,” Maschhoff notes. “They create a level-playing field for our industry, and U.S. agriculture has proven very capable at competing on a global scale.”
The Maschhoffs, LLC is a hog production company headquartered in Carlyle. The company has over 100 years of hog production experience, and is the largest family-owned hog producer network in North America, with nearly 215,000 sows and market hog production sites in nine states. The company has approximately 1,200 employees who, along with about 550 independent farm partners, focus on creating environmentally and economically sustainable hog production systems. Each year, the company raises enough hogs to provide pork to more than 16 million consumer households. Visit www.TheMaschhoffs.com
