Posted at: 10/24/2009 11:50 PM
By: Lorilyn Prestidge

"Swine Flu" Misnomer Impacts Local Farmers

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- Ever since the first case of H1N1 was called the "Swine Flu," the pork industry has taken a major beating and the hog markets still haven't recovered.

And now that the first case of H1N1 was found in a pig in Minnesota last week, the industry has been montoring what impact that will have on pork consumption.

For fifth generation farmer Paul Zimmerman hogs are a way of life, but ever since the H1N1 virus was first referred to as "Swine Flu," the hog industry he depends on has suffered.

"Boom, i mean the market for hogs just tanked," said Zimmerman.

And that's a complete reversal from what hog farmers normally see in the spring.

"That's traditionally a time when pork prices start going up cause it's grilling season, and so farmers were looking forward to after a tough year financially," said Zimmerman.

But Zimmerman says the market kept going down, making it an ongoing battle for farmers and keeping many in the red ever since.

"You have your ups and you have you downs, but this has been a long down, and it's been pretty deep one too, the average pork producer is losing fifteen to thirty dollars on every pig he raises right now," said Zimmerman.

And Zimmerman says when you multiply that by the five or ten thousand pigs a farmer may produce, the losses are devastating and many are blaming the loss on fears surrounding a connection between H1N1 and pork consumption, but experts say H1N1 cannot be transmitted through eating meat.

"It stays in the lungs, it does not get into the blood, it does not get into the other organs, and it does not get into the muscle or the meat," said National Pork Board Spokesperson Paul Sundberg.

But the National Pork Producers Council says the pork industry has lost more than five billion dollars in the last two years, and a lot of that is due to H1N1 concerns.

And those fears surged again last week when a Minnesota pig was diagnosed with H1N1

"the markets are trying to decide what's going to happen with domestic consumption on this," said Zimmerman.

And all of this has taken a financial and emotional toll on farmers.

"Caused a lot of sleepless nights for me," said Zimmerman.

Zimmerman adds the demand for pork domestically is much better than the demand in the international market, where the pork industry has been hit the worst.

The National Pork Producers Council has asked congress for help for pork producers this week.