Pork Profit Maximizer – Foodservice Edition August 19, 2019 The value of the belly primal on Friday was pegged at $169.81/ cwt, $91/cwt or 115% higher than a year ago. The increase in the value of the belly primal has contributed almost $14.4/cwt to the overall cutout (about 74% of the overall cutout increase in […]
Hog futures limit down on Friday even as China pork prices spike
Pork Profit Maximizer – Retail Edition August 19, 2019 The pork cutout had been trending higher in the first two weeks of August but posted a sharp decline on Friday. October futures were down the daily permissible limit on expectations that, in the short term, record pork supplies will drive the cutout even lower in […]
Never Too Young for Biosecurity Focus
There is never a substitute for good biosecurity when it comes to protecting herd health, and that applies to everyone from the largest commercial producers to young show pig enthusiasts with just one animal. “We need only look back five or six years during the height of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) to see […]
Hit “Restart” Faster
Secure Pork Supply plan to help producers get back to business sooner in the event of an FAD If African swine fever (ASF) or another foreign animal disease (FAD) hits the U.S., you don’t want to be sitting on the sidelines when it comes to the Secure Pork Supply (SPS) plan. Taking proactive steps now […]
Ownership Equals Responsibility
Growing up on our family’s farm in South Dakota, there was never any shortage of work to be done, especially when it was time to pick sweet corn, can green beans, butcher and process a hog or beef, dig potatoes, sort hogs, herd cattle, paint buildings or fix fence. Mom and Dad would round up […]
African Swine Fever Wreaks Havoc, Forges Collaboration
By now, you probably are accustomed to hearing about the heavy toll that African swine fever (ASF) is taking on many nations. Most notably this includes China, where experts predict the disease will result in a loss of 200 million pigs from its national herd by year’s end. That’s close to twice what the U.S. […]
Smart Collaboration
Pork Checkoff harnesses “wisdom of the crowd” A few years ago, a new TV show called Wisdom of the Crowd featured a Silicon Valley techie who created a digital platform for people worldwide to share and evaluate evidence for criminal investigations. While the series didn’t last, the “wisdom of the crowd” philosophy endures. It’s based […]
Mixed Basket Yields Profit Potential
by Steve Meyer, economist, Kerns and Associates Dickens began A Tale of Two Cities with the famous line, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” While not a perfect description of recent pork production economics, there currently is a dichotomy. On one hand, cash hog prices have held up well […]
Better Together (usually)
Most times, it’s easier to do things together… unless you’re headed in different directions. But you don’t have to look far to see that the spirit of collaboration is alive and well in the pork industry. Powerful partnerships are making far-reaching programs and initiatives funded by your Pork Checkoff investment even more impactful. Take the […]