It has been a tough year for hog producers. Calculations by economists at Iowa State University indicate losses are likely to average more than $20 per head marketed this year making it the worst financial year since 2009.
The low hog prices that are driving these losses are more the result of declining demand rather than too many hogs. Yes, hog slaughter in 2023 is expected to be 1.2% higher than last year, but it is lower than in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Packer demand for hogs has been lower than a year earlier for 22 of the last 24 months. At the retail level consumer pork demand has been lower than the year before for each of the last 13 months. Export demand for pork has been down 22 of the last 23 months.
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