Pork Producers Advised to Consider Forward Contracting Fourth Quarter Production

Jun 14, 2018

H@ms Marketing Services says higher U.S. pork production combined with uncertain demand due to Chinese and Mexican tariffs on U.S. pork will put significant downward pressure on North American hog markets through the fourth quarter.

A 25 percent duty imposed by China on U.S. pork and a 10 percent duty imposed by Mexico on U.S. hams and pork shoulders that will rise to 20 percent in July has created a great deal of uncertainty as we head toward a fourth quarter that's expected to see about five percent ore pork produced in the U.S. than one year ago.

Tyler Fulton, the Director of Risk Management with h@ms Marketing Services, notes Mexico and China represent two of the top four destinations for U.S. pork with Mexico being number one in volume and probably number two in value and China being number four or number five depending on the year.

Tyler Fulton-h@ms Marketing Services:

With the recent rally that we've seen over the last week or so in the hog markets I think that there's some good opportunities to be hedged at near break even levels.

I'll qualify that by saying the current forward prices are better not only than the cash prices that we saw last year from September to December but also over the average of the last three years.

Source : Farmscape

Video: WARNING! Rough Start To Breeding Season!!

WARNING! Sheep Breeding Season Begins With A Bang! Breeding season is officially underway at Ewetopia Farms, but it didn’t exactly start the way we planned!

This vlog begins with us sorting through our rams to find the perfect match for a customer’s breeding program. What should have been routine quickly turned dangerous when one of our more nervous rams panicked. In seconds, Arnie’s knee was injured, and then I was slammed hard onto the concrete floor — both of us taken down by one ram!

Thankfully, it was just bruises, but it’s a reminder of how unpredictable and powerful mature rams can be. Once we recovered, it was time to get back to the real work — the start of breeding season.

We sorted the ewes into four breeding groups (two Suffolk and two Dorset), checking parentage as they ran through the chute, deworming those that needed it, and setting aside thinner ewes for session two of breeding season in a month’s time.This staggered approach keeps lambing organized and prevents overcrowding in the barns.

From rogue rams to the excitement of new breeding groups, this episode is full of action. Stay tuned for the next vlog, where we’ll share how we chose the rams for each group!