NORTH LAS VEGAS, NV (FOX5) -
If you like to have a couple of pieces of bacon with your eggs in the morning, you might soon be paying more.
The National Pig Association in the UK said a world bacon shortage is unavoidable after droughts hurt corn crops this summer in North America and Europe.
But one southern Nevada business might actually have a huge advantage with less corn feeding hogs.
Bob Combs owns and operates R. C. Farms in North Las Vegas, which houses about 2,500 pigs.
With droughts in the Midwest driving up the price of grain, corn and other crops, Combs said pig farmers worldwide will suffer within the next year.
"(It's a case of) supply and demand... 99 percent of the pork in the United States is raised on the corn," said Combs.
However, Combs is not concerned because he feeds his pigs food scraps, which come from Las Vegas Strip buffets.
Because of the shortage elsewhere, Combs expects to sell 20 percent more pigs in 2013 than he did last year.
"Financially a little bit it will help out because we've had some slow years too you know," Combs said.
Still there will be less pigs for pork products, which is bad news for restaurant chefs, like Anthony Vidal at Hash-House-A-Go-Go, that have a lot of bacon on the menu.
"We do bacon waffles, we do bacon every breakfast, we put bacon in our meatloaf, we even have a BLT Bloody Mary that has a piece of bacon inside (it)," Vidal said.
Vidal said pork product prices are actually low right now, but he admits in as little as six months that could change.
For the time being, Vidal is stockpiling bacon, buying it for cheaper in bulk and freezing it.
"It's a thing you got to watch the market for, Wall Street and all that stuff, and we buy ahead," Vidal told FOX5.
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