hogs
U.S. hog total surges 9 percent amid signs of a plateau
The U.S. inventory of hogs and pigs is up 9 percent from last June 1, and slightly larger than on March 1, the USDA said in a quarterly report that showed a dynamic rebound from the effects of the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus that killed millions of piglets in 2014. The loss of piglets, along with strong demand for meat, helped propel U.S. meat prices to record levels last year and encouraged hog producers to expand their herds.
A year of flat pork prices after 2014’s skyrocket
Pork prices in the grocery store are forecast to increase hardly at all this year, up 0.5 percent, says the USDA's Food Price Outlook, a relief for consumers after record-high prices last year. "However, pork prices [this month] are still 5.9 percent higher than last year," according to the monthly report. Hog farmers are expanding production and hog prices this year are expected to be lower than in 2014. Poultry meat is forecast to increase in price by 3 percent this year and beef by 3.5 percent.
Lawmakers consider relaxing Nebraska “packer ban” for hogs
A bill in the Nebraska legislature would exempt hogs from the 15-year-old state ban on ownership of livestock by meatpackers other than immediately before slaughter, says Fortune.
Is North Dakota’s “ham and cheese” farm exemption too big?
The largest farm group in North Dakota will decide next week whether to seek a statewide referendum against the so-called ham-and-cheese exemptions to a state law against corporate farming, says the Associated Press.
As hog prices drop, low feed costs are key to profit
Hog farmers are expanding their herds following the record-high market prices of 2014. Production is forecast to rise by 7 percent this year, a surge that is driving down hog prices.
A debate on farming’s future in no-corporate-farms Nebraska
For a generation or more, Nebraska has banned corporate farming as a way to protect small operators, says Harvest Public Media, and now the Cornhusker State is "at the center of a debate that gets to the core of what it means to be a farmer."
Limited value from antibiotics to boost livestock growth
The advantage of using antibiotics as a growth promotant in food animals has shrunk to a tiny margin, say two Princeton University researchers who surveyed recent papers on performance in hogs and poultry. From 1950 through 1985, studies showed decidedly higher daily weight gain with sub-therapeutic use of antimicrobials, from 4 percent in slaughter hogs to 16 percent in "starter" pigs.
Lower-than-expected retail prices for pork and dairy
The government says pork prices will rise by only 2 percent this year -- half the increase forecast two months ago. Retail prices will be held down by a rising supply of meat, says the USDA. Hog prices set a record last year but are expected to fall by one-quarter this year; lower prices would be passed along to consumers. The USDA says there are signs of expansion in hog herds, which would mean more hogs going to slaughter within a few months.
“Classic boom-and-bust price pattern” looms for hog farmers
After hitting record highs last year, hog prices hit a five-year low in recent weeks, writes Purdue economist Chris Hurt at farmdoc daily. An expansion in hog numbers has "helped create what may be the greatest collapse of hog prices ever.
Hog prices forecast to fall by 26 percent this year
Producers will see sharply lower hog prices this year - down 26 percent from 2014 - due to larger livestock production, says the USDA's Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook.
Pork may briefly top beef in per-capita consumption
Hog farmers, long overshadowed by cattle producers, will expand production faster than the cattle industry, resulting in Americans eating more pork than beef in 2017, says the USDA in its long-term agricultural baseline. The department released the complete 97-page baseline on Tuesday; a trimmed-down version that covered crop projections was released in December. The USDA pegs pork consumption at 48.8 pounds per person in 2017 compared to 48.5 pounds of beef.
More cattle and hogs to ease meat squeeze
U.S. cattle, hog and poultry producers are expanding production, the government said in forecasting a sharp 3-percent increase in per-capita meat consumption this year. In its monthly WASDE report, the Agriculture Department raised its forecast of meat production by more than 1 billion pounds for this year. It estimated that the average American would consume 208.5 pounds of beef, pork and poultry in 2015, the equivalent of 9 ounces a day.
Iowa county seeks moratorium on new CAFOs
Dickinson County in northwestern Iowa, by asking for a temporary moratorium on new, large-scale livestock farms, "could become the next battleground" over massive feedlots, says the Des Moines Register.
New strain is found of lethal hog disease PEDv
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found a new strain - the third variety - of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, a disease that has killed at least eight million baby pigs, says Reuters.
More pork for consumers, lower profits for hog farmers
After several years of constrained supplies, pork production will climb by 5 percent this year, says economist Chris Hurt of Purdue. "Pork producers are gearing up to provide their customers with what they want and that is 'More Pork' and 'More Bacon,'"...
Smithfield says 70% of sows in group housing, not crates
The world's largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods Inc, says more than 70 percent of its pregnant sows are in group housing, part of a shift from so-called sow crates that limit their movement, says Associated Press.
Cereal, baked goods prices flat in 2014, pork to ease in ’15
Prices for cereal, flour and bakery items will finish the year unchanged from 2013, an indirect effect of record wheat crops worldwide, according to government forecasts, and pork prices will fall by 15 percent in the new year after soaring this year. "Many items in the center aisles of grocery stores/supermarkets have seen lower than average inflation or even deflation year-over-year," said USDA in its food price report.
Biggest increase on hog breeding inventory since late 1990s
Hog farmers "are significantly ramping up pork production," says Farm Futures, pointing to the 4 percent increase in the breeding inventory in the three months ending on Dec 1 vs the same period in 2013.
Precision ag usage is highest in top row-crop states
Farmers in the top corn, wheat, soybean, and hog states are twice as likely as farmers in smaller-volume states to use precision agriculture practices, such as GPS guidance, said the USDA’s farm computer report on Thursday. Usage often topped 50 percent in the top row-crop states, while the U.S. average was just 27 percent.