Hog Markets Start 2018 On Positive Note

 

The director of risk management with Hams Marketing Services says most of the forward hog contracts were at or near contract highs to start the new year.

 

"We're a shade lower than what we would have been for the forward contract prices this time last year, given the fact that we're dealing with a significantly larger supply and there's some questions on demand," he said. "I think we're in pretty good shape. It definitely represents good profitability for producers for most of the year."

 

Fulton adds U.S. cash markets are expected to trade near steady in the post-holiday period.

 

"We're just coming off of the two short holiday slaughter weeks, which typically has a bit of a negative implication on cash prices, but producers were very current going into the holiday period. Their hog weights indicated that they were not behind in their marketings, and packers were very aggressive in sourcing those hogs. In fact, we saw likely the two biggest hog slaughters that we have ever seen in the two weeks leading up to Christmas."

 

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.