Tyson will no longer take pigs from Iowa fairs

Youth who show production swine at the Washington County Fair will no longer have the option of selling their pigs to Tyson after the fair.

Tyson recently informed fair officials that, because of international trade issues, they will no longer purchase pigs from fair participants.

The issue, Fair Board Vice President Kurt Dallymeyer told the Board of Supervisors last week, is that China does not want Ractopamine, a feed additive that promotes muscle growth, in its meats.

'Some of the players, including Tyson, banned it commercially,” Dallmeyer said. 'Tyson announced they won't take our fair pigs. We had a deal where they would take the kids' 4-H pigs as an outlet.”

Amy Green, the county's 4-H/youth coordinator, said that they received word about the change from Tyson in late 2020.

'We've been taking pigs there for a long time,” Green said. 'It was one of those things where we were lucky to have so many resources in our backyard. It was a huge benefit and gave our kids an outlet into the market.

'Tyson has been a good partner for us. We understand that they had to make some changes.”

Fair Board President John Wagner said that the issue would be a hot topic at the annual meeting of the Iowa County Fairs Association, which was scheduled for this past weekend.

'This is a statewide deal,” Wagner said. 'None of the fairs have a place to get rid of their pigs. We have more pigs than a lot of counties just because of where we are.”

Green said that about 100 fair pigs each year have been sold to Tyson.

'That's a little more than half that come to the fair,” she said.

Jefferson County 4-H/Youth Coordinator Grace Davidson said Friday that she had not heard about Tyson's decision to not take fair pigs.

'That would have a big impact on kids being able to sell at market after the fair,” Davidson said. 'I believe most of our kids would have sold to Tyson.”

Dallmeyer said that the Ractopamine ban has been in place for about a year, and that most commercial swine operations have adjusted and have been certified.

'It started last year because of the exports with China because they don't want that drug in the meat,” he said. 'We had an outlet last year, but they decided this year they weren't going to take them.”

He said, though, that it is too much of a burden for youth to become certified, especially if they only have a handful of pigs.

Green said that the fair Swine Committee is looking for other options.

'That goal is to provide an outlet for local kids,” she said. 'We're working to confirm an alternate location.

'It would be a secondary market with lower prices.”

The youth have the option of keeping their pigs and having them butchered for their families and friends.

'The local lockers and butchers are booked way out ahead of time,” she said.

Dallmeyer said that they are looking to raise funds for the youth who show swine. The pot would be divided among the youth.

He said that the fundraiser still is in the planning stages, and more information would be available at a later date.