Skyrocketing costs derailing expansion plans for U.S. pork producers

Jul 31, 2023

U.S. pork producers are facing an increasingly challenging economic environment that is likely to persist through the remainder of 2023. The combination of elevated operating costs and depressed hog values are evaporating producer returns and limiting overall industry growth. While hog prices have risen this summer, they have not kept pace with skyrocketing costs for feed, labor, construction, and other expenses, a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange notes.

According to the report, feed costs in 2022 alone were up 19% year over year, but hog values were up just 14% and came under pressure during the first six months of 2023. Over the long run, the disparity between hog prices and feed costs is even larger. The report pointed out that during the 12 months ended June 2023, live basis negotiated purchases of barrows and gilts averaged $67.00/cwt., up 45% from the average from 2016-2020. Comparatively, corn and soybean prices were up 78%.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.