Parrot Jungle and Gardens will once again bring a growing national holiday to South Florida on Saturday, March 1, with a National Pig Day celebration. Pig Day parties are planned at 11:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Visitors will be able to meet and learn about Parrot Jungle's resident potbellied Pigs, sing "Happy Pig Day to You" and participate in a hog-calling contest.

National Pig Day was conceived by two sisters, Ellen Stanley of Lubbock, Texas, and Mary Lynne Rave of Beaufort, North Carolina. They both shared a childhood fascination with swine and in 1972 began the observance of National Pig Day.

Elsewhere, declining hog supplies have prompted IBP to significantly scale back operations at two of its Iowa pork plants, a company official announced today. All second shift carcass production at Columbus Junction, IA will cease, effective March 3. The company also gave notice today that all carcass production at Council Bluffs will cease April 24. The layoffs effect more than 1,000 people.

"Due to the migration of hog supplies to southern states, there simply are no longer enough hogs available in today's marketplace to consistently meet the current production needs of the Midwestern pork processing industry," said the spokesman. Despite these cutbacks, "the number of hogs relative to available production capacity still remains out of balance. It's not an issue of not being able to compete. It's an issue of a hostile social and political climate for agriculture and livestock production in particular."

"More must be done to promote Iowa pork -- rather than tear it down. Iowa lost its prominence in cattle production 20 years ago. Unless current trends change, the future will be the same for the pork industry.

"Worldwide demand for pork is growing," he continued. "Hogs will be raised to meet that demand. The question that needs to be asked by Iowa is how much economic well being disappears from their state with every unit train of corn that leaves to feed hogs somewhere else."

[02/25/1997]