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Ontario hog prices continued their gradual climb during the week ending July 10, providing producers with another modest improvement in market returns. While pricing remains below year-ago levels, the market continues to show resilience despite ongoing pressure from rising feed costs. The Ontario 100% Base Formula Price increased to $236.67/cwt, with weaned pig values climbing to $61.53 per pig and feeder pig values reaching $97.63 per pig.

Every summer, heat waves put farms under pressure. And while producers keep a close eye on temperature, another risk builds quietly in the background: an electrical failure at the worst possible moment. Pigs can’t sweat. In a mechanically ventilated barn at 90°F, a ventilation shutdown isn’t an inconvenience, it’s a race against the clock. Losses can start within minutes, and entire rooms can be lost within the hour. Here’s how to reduce that risk, concretely.

How do you design equipment that improves both animal welfare and the day-to-day experience of the people caring for livestock? In this interview, Randall Bock of Bock Industries discusses the company’s commitment to engineering reliable, easy-to-use equipment that supports timely euthanasia, animal welfare, and caretaker confidence.

Executive Summary When sorting performance starts to change, most producers naturally look at the sorter. Is the equipment working properly? Does something need adjustment? Has accuracy declined? After decades of working with producers, George Waldner has seen a different reality play out time and time again. Most sorting problems don’t start at the sorter. They start somewhere else in the barn. A gate gets moved. Pig flow changes. Stocking pressure increases. A routine evolves.

Serbia has begun culling approximately 11,000 pigs at a commercial farm following the confirmation of African swine fever (ASF), underscoring the continued challenges the disease poses to global pork production. According to reports from Serbian officials, the affected farm is located in the village of Hrtkovci in the country’s western region. The depopulation effort is expected to take several days as veterinary authorities work to contain the outbreak and prevent further spread.

Inspired by a very wet Michigan spring, this series provides a refresher on mycotoxins, their effects and mitigation in pig production. It takes very little contamination to cause a lot of harm making mycotoxins an invisible threat to pig health. Conceptualized by Casey Zangaro and created in BioRender. Luttman, A. (2026) https://BioRender.com/nptepdu.

Although May exports of U.S. pork were higher year-over-year, volumes were significantly diminished by Mexico’s restrictions on pork offal items, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). May beef exports were below last year’s volume but edged higher in value. Pork exports totaled 245,874 metric tons (mt) in May, up 10% from a year ago, with value up 8% to $701 million.

The future of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) has become a renewed topic of discussion across North America’s pork sector following the United States’ decision not to extend the agreement for another 16-year term. While the decision does not immediately change trading conditions, it triggers the agreement’s scheduled review process and opens the possibility that any participating country could withdraw from the trade pact with six months’ notice.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is moving forward with plans to support faster processing line speeds for both pork and poultry facilities, reaffirming a policy direction aimed at improving efficiency and strengthening the competitiveness of the U.S. meat industry. The announcement is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to reduce regulatory burdens while increasing processing capacity for American livestock producers and processors.

California’s Proposition 12 remains one of the most significant policy issues facing the U.S. pork industry, and it has once again become a focal point in federal politics. At a farm event in Iowa, U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson reaffirmed her support for the Save Our Bacon Act, legislation designed to prevent individual states from imposing production standards on livestock raised in other states.