On top of new regulations, profitability in the pork industry was not the best last year.
USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyers says producers have been trying to get prices back up with hopes of just breaking even.
“They cut farrowings in an attempt to cut production. The problem is, as pigs per litter jumped so much, it completely offset any of the attempts to actually cut supplies. So is pigs per litter sustained? Was that a blip? Are we back on this aggressive trend of pigs per litter growth?”
USDA still predicts this year’s pork production to run higher than 2023 but with better prices. The forecast has it at $60 per hundredweight, which is up $1.30 this past year.
