There is a lot of uncertainty right now in most sectors of the ag industry, including swine. One group says producers are cautiously optimistic.
“It’s really been a tale of the last 24 months. We’ve gone through one of the worst downturns in this economy and this swine industry that we’ve seen probably in the last 30 or 40 years. We’ve kind of come out of that with lower feed costs, corn, soybean meal, and we see production kind of getting itself back straightened out. Guys are really optimistic about what ’25 is going to give us. The first half has been very successful, and I would say the second half, there’s a lot of cautious optimism as we continue forward. Guys are thinking very positively as we go through ’25,” said Chris Ford.
Ford says producers can do a number of things this year to stay afloat, like good bookkeeping and proper risk management, but he says there is one more important component.
“Just making sure that we’re adhering to the best and highest technology around biosecurity because production is going to be key as we go through. So those are probably the three biggest things that I encourage guys to continue to focus on going forward.”
Swine producers are not the only ones holding out hope for the rest of the year. This month’s ag economy barometer showed an improvement in producer sentiment. The strong numbers came on optimism on future trade deals.
