2023 has not been smooth sailing for anyone in the hog production industry. From increased production costs, to demand factors still affected by the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic, and policy decisions that mandate how hogs are raised there have been a lot of factors combining to make this year tough for hog producers.
Holly Cook is the National Pork Producers Council’s Economist and she says that 2023 was a year of challenges for hog producers.
Cook also explains the current demand situation.
While pork production is up compared to a year ago, Cook says that the breeding herd is the smallest it has been in years.
Production costs have continued to climb for producers and unfortunately Cook says that non-feed costs continue to rise from inflation.
She says a bright spot for the pork industry continues to be exports and increasing value for the entire animal.
That was Holly Cook, economist with the National Pork Producers Council.
