Hog prices keep falling

Oct 23, 2023

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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Video: Validating Net Energy in Commercial Swine Systems - Gustavo Lima

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Gustavo Lima, PhD candidate at Iowa State University, explains how soybean meal net energy is evaluated using growth assays and calorimetry. He discusses caloric efficiency, validation under commercial conditions, and differences between controlled and real-world environments. Gustavo also highlights practical implications for diet formulation and ingredient valuation. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Indirect calorimetry provides a precise estimation of ingredient energy, yet validation under production conditions remains essential for accurate application in real systems.”

Meet the guest: Gustavo Lima / gustavo-lima-a9867127 is a PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University, specializing in swine nutrition, ingredient evaluation, and energy metabolism. With over 15 years of experience across Latin America, his work focuses on soybean meal utilization, caloric efficiency, and applied research for commercial production systems.