Pork producers enjoyed their 30th-consecutive month of profitability in July, based on a typical farrow-to-finish operation, says Ron Plain, University of Missouri agricultural economist.
The run is the longest string of months in the black since the late 1970s, he says. Odds are good producers will rack up several more quarters of profitability.
“The demand for pork for export is very strong, domestic demand is fairly stable and the swine herd is growing very slowly,” explains Plain.
Chances are 2006 may be the first year since 1993 that a Canadian pig crop was below year-ago levels, further reducing total U.S. pork supplies.
Growth in the Canadian swine herd from 1993-2004 was a primary factor in low profits for U.S. producers, when 75% of the growth in the North American pig crop occurred in Canada.