Hog Producers Face Tough Times

Jul 28, 2023

U.S. pork farmers are going through a tough time because it costs a lot of money to raise pigs, and they are not getting much money when they sell them. They struggle to turn a profit as a result.

People are also not buying as much pork as they used to, which is making things even harder for the farmers. The prices for pork are high, and people are not spending as much money on food at home. This means that there is not as much demand for pork.

Pork farmers also face challenges with selling pork to other countries. China used to buy a lot of pork from the U.S., but now they are getting their own pigs back after a disease outbreak. This means that there is less demand for U.S. pork in other countries.

The tough situation is making it difficult for pork farmers to expand their farms and raise more pigs. Even if the costs are okay, there are not enough people buying pork, so the farmers can't make enough money to grow their businesses.

In the past, people used to eat a lot of pork, but now they are eating more chicken instead. Pork is still popular for making bacon, sausage, and ham, but other cuts of pork like loins are not as popular as they used to be.

During the pandemic, when people stayed at home more, they cooked pork at home and bought more of it. But now that things are getting back to normal, people are eating out more, and this is making it harder for pork farmers to sell their pork.

Source : wisconsinagconnection

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.