Midwest Pork Producers Hope for a Profitable Year, but Trade Tensions Could Complicate That

By Rachel Cramer

While the U.S. pork industry has grown significantly in the past two decades, producers have struggled to make a profit in recent years. Industry leaders are looking for new markets abroad and at home.

U.S. pork producers could be profitable this year as they dig out from record losses in 2023, industry experts predict. But trade remains a wild card.

“Trade is vitally important for our industry. We export about 25% of our production,” said Maria C. Zieba, vice president of government affairs with the National Pork Producers Council.

Zieba spoke on a policy panel in Des Moines at the 2025 World Pork Expo, a two-day event that draws in an estimated 10,000 people.