Lincoln, Nebraska (June 30, 2009) - Nebraska Farm Bureau called on USDA Tuesday (June 30) to consider five actions to help struggling beef, dairy and pork producers in the state and nationwide.

"Nebraska's livestock producers have been hit with low prices for well over a year, resulting in millions of dollars in financial loss, for them personally and for Nebraska's economy," Farm Bureau President Keith Olsen said. Olsen is a farmer from Grant, Neb.

Cattle feeders are trying to cope with market prices that are well below their break-even point, Olsen said, and pork producers have seen their Chinese and Russian export markets disappear because of the H1N1 flu scare.

"Farmers and ranchers are no strangers to tough times, but they need assistance now," Olsen said. "Some livestock farmers are at the point of going out of business, which will hurt local employment and the entire local economy."

Farm Bureau asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to consider these actions to provide immediate assistance:

• Make meat commodities the main target for export sales, through the Market Access and Foreign Market Development Programs.

• Redirect funds in the Emerging Markets Program to improve technical assistance for promotion of beef and pork exports in newer foreign markets.

• Use unobligated funds to increase Farm Service Agency loan guarantees for livestock producers, to give them access to private capital to remain in business.

• Direct FSA and the Farm Credit Administration to allow for greater forbearance and deferments on outstanding operating loans for livestock producers.

• Ask other members of the President's Cabinet to make procurement of meat products a priority in their departments.

Nebraska produces 20 percent of U.S. beef and is the fifth-largest producer of pork. The livestock industry is responsible for two-thirds of the cash receipts for agriculture, the state's largest industry. "Nebraska's farmers and ranchers are the backbone of our economy," Olsen said. "When they suffer economically, it's never long before the entire state feels the impact."