Marketing

Getting a handle on packing capacity in the fall was much easier, but remains troubling — if not for this fall, then certainly for the fall of 2013. The bottom line is this — there is no packing plant cavalry riding to the rescue if hog numbers get too large by the end of 2013. Producers need to factor that into any growth decisions they make for the next couple of years....More

On May 15, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law an act of Congress establishing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). President Lincoln called USDA the “People’s Department” because he understood the importance of agriculture to the nation...More

U.S. pork exports rose 8% the first quarter of 2012 by volume (657,864 tons) and were 20% higher in value at $1.66 billion than last year’s record pace, according to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). However, March pork export volume of 218,869 tons was 8% lower than a year ago, but 6% higher than February 2012. Export value at $570.5 million was 3% higher than last year and up 8% from the previous month....More

  From a quarterly survey of Canadian hog and pig operations, Statistics Canada reports the Canadian breeding herd remains nearly stable at 1.310 million head, slightly lower than the last quarter.  The Canadian breeding herd contracted by about 20% between 2005 and 2009, but has stayed nearly level since that time, reports Steve Meyer and Len Stein in the CME Group’s Daily Livestock Report (DLR).  ...More