Benchmark Magazine Article Archive

After more than a year of financial losses, the North American swine sector is finally turning a corner.

Broad-based growth in pork exports continues to provide a measure of hope for pork producers in 2024, amid historically challenging market conditions in hog production.

After staggering high unemployment rates in 2020, it dropped in 2021. The vital global agricultural industry experienced strong hiring in 2021, with a 30% increase in jobs posted on AgCareers.com. Globally, job postings in the swine industry on AgCareers.com increased by 6% in the past year. Looking at jobs by country, US swine jobs remained consistent, while Canadian swine jobs increased.

With disruptions caused by the pandemic and mounting uncertainty surrounding the crisis in Ukraine, ensuring a consistent, safe, and affordable food supply has never been more important.

For the past few years, the American pork industry has had to concern itself with: the Covid-19 pandemic and its corresponding supply chain, labour and health issues; and the ever-present Sword of Damocles hanging over everyone’s head that is African Swine Fever and the prevention of its entrance into North America, while also preparing for its unwanted arrival, nonetheless. And then there is California Proposition 12 - a new State of California law that bans the sale of pork for any hog born to a sow not raised according to the state’s production standards, specifically animal housing doctrine.

The Bountiful Pig. When you think of pigs, what do you think of? Did you know that everyday pigs provide vital needs for humans? Pork products range from safe high-quality delicious sources of protein, lifesaving medical uses, and many other products that help improve the quality of our lives. No other animal provides such a wide range of products for society as pigs. Through new technologies and innovative research, new by-products from pigs continue to be developed every day.

The Belcampo Farm was started in 2012 and founded with the mission “to deliver meat you can feel good about”. Belcampo meat products are a quality protein source for people; Belcampo certifies humane treatment of its animals; and regenerative agriculture for the environment.

Back in February 2021, the PigCHAMP team had the pleasure of sitting down over Zoom with Joyce Hoppes from the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA). As the Consumer Information Director, Joyce works closely with retailers, educators, and healthcare workers on the consumer side of programs and activities. Other than this past year, you can usually find her at events like the Iowa State Fair or putting programs together like Pass the Pork.

The swine industry has changed greatly over the past few decades. Efficiencies in pork production and the agriculture industry, have changed the way we look at what and where our food comes from. Consumer demand for increased animal welfare and safe pork products has driven the industry to improve production and quality standards.

At the beginning of 2020 most people started the year with a New Year’s resolution -- usually based on hopes of working towards improving their health, business, friendships, or a personal goal. Then COVID-19 hit, resolutions were replaced with other concerns such as business closures, many changes, and uncertainties.

Early 2021 witnessed a “perfect storm” brewing in the U.S. hog industry as a marketing whole (less supplies in 2021 at -3.4% vs. last year) due to higher diseases (PRRS/PEDV in Iowa/Minnesota), strong global demand (driven by China) and domestic demand (driven by U.S. stimulus cheques in 2020/21) , higher feed costs, and the pent-up pandemic-recovery demand has resulted in soaring U.S. pork cutout values and futures, which are higher year-on-year (Y/Y) by +90% and +56%, respectively.

In early March of 2020, what now feels like another lifetime ago, the University of Illinois Meat Science Laboratory was racing through a typical, fast-paced, spring semester. Graduate students were slaughtering and fabricating over 50 pigs over the course of a week to collect data for industry supported projects.

The Canadian hog and pig farming industry is composed of many small, family owned farms, leading to fragmentation in the market with the biggest players being HyLife Foods, Maple Leaf Food, Progressive Pork Producers Co-Operative and Sollio Cooperative Group.

The hog and pig farming industry in the United States facilitates feeder pig farming, hog feedlots, hog and pig farms, farrow-to-finish operations and weaning pig operations, with primary outputs being market hogs, feeder pigs, cull stock and breeding stock.