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Articles by Steve Meyer
solar power projects
The American Solar Energy Society (ASEA) reported a staggering forecast of “37 million jobs resulting from Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the US by 2030”. That’s pretty exciting stuff. In fact, the numbers are so big, I had to get a closer look. 37 Million new jobs would certainly fix things in this, or […]
state governments
Intuition Robotics said that Washington is the first to offer its ElliQ AI companion statewide to help people stay engaged and healthy. The Congressional Robotics Caucus says a unified strategy is needed for U.S. economic and military competitiveness. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey also visited a high school robotics team and touted a bill proposing innovation investment.
Things change
Unless something really terrible happens, this will be my last column for National Hog Farmer. Of course, that was supposed to be the case back in July but my wife tells me I have thus far failed miserably at retirement. I fully intend to do better some Oct. 1. Thank you to all of you faithful readers. I have received many kind comments and a few not-so-kind ones over the years but all have been honest and for the most part very well though out.
Costs must fall, demand must improve, supplies must decline
You know the drill: One or more of those factors had to happen to improve pig farmers’ financial prospects from the dismal level of 2023. What I haven’t said often enough, I suppose, is that, collectively, those three factors have to improve BY LARGE ENOUGH AMOUNTS to make a difference for pig farmers. Two have improved and one hasn’t changed but are the magnitudes large enough to prevent the failure of a significant number of pig producers? Costs have indeed declined.
To restore hog producer profitability, one of three factors must happen
Mantra – A word or sound repeated to aid concentration or meditation. We start with that definition because if any of you have heard me speak over the past year or so, you have heard my mantra: (Here everyone can join in by assuming a contemplative position. The commode works fine by me. Just don’t tell us about it. If you do that lotus position thing, don’t blame me when your wife/husband/anyone handy has to come help you untangle your legs and, perhaps, stand again!) So all together now—Hum.
Tyson Foods to close Perry, Iowa pork processing plant
Tyson Foods announced today that it is closing its Perry, Iowa slaughter plant, effective June 28. The plant had a capacity of 9,000 head per day. It was strictly a single-shift plant and reportedly employed 1,200 workers. This announcement is not a huge surprise as it has been rumored for some time that Tyson was considering this change. The Perry plant originally belonged to Oscar Mayer and was, I believe, built in the 1950s or early 1960s.
New feral hog bait garners support from Texas ag
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and Texas Farm Bureau are expressing support for a newly-approved toxicant, Kaput Feral Hog Bait. Kaput, which was registered for state limited use by licensed pesticide applicators in Texas on February 1, 2024, will aid farmers, ranchers, and landowners in helping mitigate the growing feral hog problem.
Researchers find new solutions to controlling mites in dry-cured ham
With funding from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Mississippi State University and Kansas State University researchers have developed many safe and cost-effective methods and technologies over the last 15 years for the dry-cured pork (country ham) industry to control pest infestations. Specifically, they have targeted mites and various insect pests.
Ohio Pork Council honors industry members for service, promotion
Dave Shoup, Orrville, Ohio, received the Ohio Pork Industry Excellence Award. The Ohio Pork Council concluded a highly successful 2024 Ohio Pork Congress with its annual awards luncheon on Feb. 7 that featured updates by Ohio Director of Agriculture Brian Baldridge and OPC Executive Vice President Cheryl Day. OPC recognized several top volunteers for their outstanding contributions to the state’s pork industry.
Farm Progress America, February 13, 2024
Mike Pearson examines the ruling out of the U.S. District Court in Arizona Feb. 6 that revoked the registration of Dicamba for use on cotton and soybeans. The ruling removed the registration from three popular herbicides: The three herbicides were part of a new class of herbicides that made the Dicamba less prone to drift.
Pork demand has been good but declined in 2023
2023 will not go down as a banner year for domestic pork demand when compared to the immediate two prior years. But in a longer-term context, 2023 was still the fourth best year since 1990 according to my calculations of real per capita expenditures for pork. Figure 1 shows annual RPCE for pork back to 1988.
Butchers boost U.S. red meat sales in Colombia Original
Popular cuts include beef coulotte, pork brisket bone. With support from USDA, the National Pork Board and the Beef Checkoff Program, the U.S. Meat Export Federation is helping butcher shops in Colombia more effectively merchandise U.S. pork and beef cuts. USMEF Latin America Representative Homero Recio recently updated USMEF members on the program, explaining the key role butcher shops play in Colombia’s retail sector and that there is still room for further expansion.
Does extreme weather impact PED, PRRS occurrence?
Despite the wealth of knowledge surrounding risk factors for porcine epidemic diarrhea and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, the relationship between extreme weather events and PED and PRRS outbreaks has not been thoroughly investigated. “These weather events may have indirect effects with these farms … some of those effects such as disruption of movements, feed, dead animal removal, how often do these actions get affected by extreme weather events?” says Igor Paploski.
Drop the bias and take a hard look at your production strategy
Sometimes you think what you are doing is best but, even so, there is always value in stepping back and looking objectively at what is really going on. Pork profitability and risk management go hand in hand, and considering today’s market conditions its important to drop any existing biases and look strategically at what you might have done differently this year. Joining Feedstuffs Precision Pork host Patrick Duerksen in this episode are Cargill’s Matt Wolfe and Andrew Leddy.
Hogs and Pigs history, implications
USDA’s next quarterly Hogs and Pigs report will be released on Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. Central Time. While all of these reports are watched closely, this one might get some extra attention due to the losses incurred by producers over the past two years and the very real prospects of losses for most of 2024. I have written and spoken extensively since midsummer that one or more of three things have to happen for pig producers’ economic prospects to improve. They are: Pork supplies must decline.
a pork producers fight food insecurity with $10K pork donation
The Iowa Pork Producers Association donated $10,000 worth of pork Friday to help fight food insecurity in central Iowa. That translates to about 14,400 meals, divided between the Food Bank of Iowa and the Des Moines Area Religious Council. The Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC, both based in Des Moines, each received 1,800 pounds of ground pork. The donations stemmed from IPPA’s BBQ & Brew at the Ballpark event in July.
Lower 2023 U.S. red meat and poultry production forecasted
Lower beef, pork, broiler, and turkey forecasts led USDA to reduce its 2023 red meat and poultry production forecast to 1.07 billion pounds (lbs.) in the latest “World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.” Lower beef production, at 26.93 million lbs. was the result of reduced steer and heifer slaughter that more than offset higher expected cow slaughter and higher average dressed weights in the fourth quarter, USDA noted.
Farm Progress America, November 14, 2023
Mike Pearson examines the ag economy barometer published by Purdue University CME Group. Overall, the ag economy improved during the month of October -- at least modestly. The November report highlighted the positive trend with the index rising four points in October to 110. To complete the barometer, economists ask farmers about how they feel about the economy now and how they see the ag economy a year from now.
Facts and conclusions
With soft demand, plenty of pigs and competition from other species, China appears to be in same boat as U.S. pork industry. Let’s begin today with what I believe to be clear facts about current market conditions. Fact 1 World grain supplies are ample and still growing. See Figures 1 and 2. The pace of growth has slowed for both corn and soybeans since 2017 but it still positive.
What can we do to drive pork demand now?
National Pork Board Q4 support to include expansion into multicultural consumer marketing, retailer efforts with lapsed/light buyers and promotion for Firehouse Subs’ pulled pork sandwich. With beef prices increasing and availability decreasing, why isn’t pork volume growing? What can we do to drive pork demand now? When will we see the impact of Pork Checkoff efforts?
K-State Swine Day slated for Nov. 16
Research updates are the cornerstone of Kansas State University’s annual Swine Day planned for Thursday, Nov. 16. “Swine Day is a major highlight of our year. We share all the swine research conducted at K-State within the last year including the latest information on nutrition, pig livability and other industry issues.
UFCW members ratify historic Hormel Foods contract
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union has announced workers across four states have voted to ratify a historic contract with Hormel Foods. UFCW, which represents 1.3 million essential workers in grocery, meatpacking, retail and other essential industries across North America, released the following statement announcing the ratification of UFCW’s new historic contract with Hormel Foods.
Silent robbers of feed
“There is no such thing as normal diarrhea.” This comes from someone who has dedicated nearly 40 years to controlling and establishing immunity to ileitis, a leading cause of diarrhea in pigs. Host Sarah Muirhead speaks with Dr. Nate Winkelman from Swine Services Unlimited about practical strategies and lessons learned for controlling Lawsonia.
Farm Progress America, October 12, 2023
Mike Pearson examines the results of the Ag Economy Barometer survey by the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture. The survey discovered farmer attitudes have cooled along with grain prices. It's the second month in a row that farmers have been slightly less optimistic about the economy. The survey showed a 1.06 down nine points from the survey in August and it was below the 2022 September level as well. Farmers attribute it to higher inputs and lower grain prices.
Looking to increase your revenue? Look harder at livability
By Bradley Eckberg, MetaFarms Tough financial times are here in the pork industry with the producer’s bottom line in the red. It is unknown how much longer revenue will be greater than expenses so what can producers do to generate more revenue? Sure, diet formulations can be altered. And technology can be introduced to offset labor costs as well. The good news is there is an opportunity for all pork producers to generate more revenue and it can happen today.
Medgene, USDA to develop two FAD platform vaccines
Important cooperative agreements were recently signed between the USDA's Agricultural Research Service and Medgene, an animal health company that produces highly-targeted platform vaccines. The agreements are designed to apply Medgene's proprietary platform vaccine technologies against two well-known foreign animal diseases: Nipah Virus and Rift Valley Fever.
USDA APHIS updates African swine fever plans
Updated materials include a revised ASF Redbook, Harvest Facility Response Plans and Control Area Permit Template. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has made significant updates to its African Swine Fever response plans for domestic pig and feral swine response.
Study finds U.S. feral hog population can be managed
After 24 months of control efforts, UGA researchers found a 70% reduction in pigs and a 99% decline in environmental rooting damage. Recent conservation efforts have proven effective at controlling wild pig populations in the Southeastern United States, according to new research from the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.
Farm Progress America, October 11, 2023
Mike Pearson says history could be repeating itself when it comes to the Mississippi River. Last year, farmers were forced to pay record prices for freight rates on the Mississippi River due to low levels caused by drought. And in 2023, it's happening again. The Mississippi Valley is again in drought territory and the movie sequel that no one wants to watch is happening. The cost of freight dropped to $10 per ton over the spring when the water rose and the diesel prices dropped.
U.S. breeding herd back on trend before COVID
Last week’s release of U.S. trade data for August indicates continued growth of U.S. pork exports versus both the previous month and previous year. See Figure 1. The 4.4% month/month increase and 2.8% year/year increase are admittedly nothing to write home about but they do still represent a growing market for U.S. pork. We still believe 2023 exports will end up somewhere around 8.5% larger than last year. That increase will put 2023 shipments as the third largest ever.
Farm Progress America, September 14, 2023
Mike Pearson tells us about railroad service changes that have been made in an effort to get agricultural goods to where they need to be. Railroads have been consolidating since the 1960's. In 1980, there were 40 Class I carriers and by 2023, there were six Class I carriers. A petition was created for changes and the Surface Transportation Board determined there was a lack of competition in the railroad system. So a reciprocal switch was created.
ISU study to examine factors affecting reproductive success
The impacts of obesity and heat stress on reproductive health will be the focus of a study at Iowa State University funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The research project will determine whether heat stress causes additive impacts on ovarian toxicity in lean and obese mice.
Producers, consumers reluctant about Prop 12
With limited options left for reversing California’s Proposition 12, a gathering hosted this week by National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) provided a pulse on how the U.S. pork industry is faring in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold the law.
Second round wean-to-harvest research tackles several biosecurity gaps
Research projects to examine transportation decontamination, barn washing protocols and an alternative entry to shower-in, shower-out systems. The Swine Health Information Center’s Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Research Program, funded with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and the Pork Checkoff, awarded a total of $514,856 to five new wean-to-harvest biosecurity research projects.
U.S. pork regaining traction in Taiwan
Following setbacks that slashed exports of U.S. pork to Taiwan, demand has rebounded dramatically in 2023. Taiwan’s zero-tolerance policy for ractopamine residues and persistent trade tensions related to that issue have impacted U.S. pork exports for many years. In 2009, pork and pork variety exports to Taiwan were nearly 43,000 metric tons, valued at $66.6 million.
Richert joins Ralco swine nutrition team Original
As associate swine nutritionist, Richert will provide technical assistance, focusing primarily on the Eastern Corn Belt. Ralco welcomes Jacob Richert as its new associate swine nutritionist.
Movement sensors can detect African swine fever in wild boar
Behavioral sensors attached to wild boars have been used to detect when animals are sick with African swine fever, a fatal viral disease that affects both boar and domestic pigs. Accelerometer sensors, which measure tiny changes in movement, showed that wild boars reduced their daily activity by up to 20% when infected with the virus.
Farm Progress America, September 13, 2023
Mike Pearson explains how change could be coming to food labels in France. France is the European Union’s largest ag producer. Over the last decade, many alternative meat products have been released. The attempt was to make it as close to tasting like meat as possible. A new proposal was introduced in early August to ban certain meat words from being used in plant-based marketing. It’s the latest in what is called label wars between planted based foods and conventional meat.
Partnerships help promote U.S. pork loin in Peru
U.S. industry partnerships are behind a U.S. pork loin initiative with a major importer in Peru. Critical to the success of this initiative were technical cutting demonstrations performed for importers last year by David Newman, senior vice president for market growth for the National Pork Board and a past member of USMEF’s executive committee.
What value – or desired price – have you set for your pigs?
Lean hogs futures are a common whipping boy when hog markets are low or just disappointing relative to expectations. The latter is a good descriptor of this summer so allegations of nefarious behavior or just complaints about structural issues that make the lean hogs contract less useful are common at present.
Farm Progress America, August 16, 2023
Mike Pearson examines African Swine Fever and how fast it si spreading across the world. The virus hasn't been found in the USA but it continues to impact the hog industry. The Swine Health Information Center, funded by the Pork Checkoff, issues a monthly report and in August it shows the impact of ASF on the hog industry. The virus spreads through direct contact, transmission of feed and infected meat. The symptoms of the virus include a high fever and weakness and ends in death.
APHIS seeks to strengthen Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is seeking comments on a proposed rule to amend regulations governing its Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection program user fees. APHIS and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection jointly administer the AQI program, which assures that cargo and passenger baggage entering the country is inspected for plant pests and potential sources of animal diseases that could affect U.S. agriculture, trade and commerce.
USDA lowers 2023 red meat and poultry production forecast
Lower beef, pork and broiler production forecasts led the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce its forecast for 2023 red meat and poultry production to 107.55 billion pounds (lbs.) in the latest “World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates” report. The beef production forecast was lowered to 28.96 billion pounds due to lower steer and heifer slaughter and lighter dressed weights. The decline in the pork production forecast to 27.26 billion lbs.
Seaboard Triumph Foods appoints new food safety, quality assurance director
Profera joins STF with over 15 years of experience in FSQA from Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. Seaboard Triumph Foods is pleased to announce the hire of James Profera as director of food safety and quality assurance. Profera joins STF with over 15 years of experience in FSQA from Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. and is a Siouxland local from South Sioux City, Nebraska. “I am excited to join STF because of the company-wide culture of innovation.
What does a Veterinary-Client-Patient-Relationship mean for your operation?
Although many states are looking at this as an option, none of the top 10 pig producing states allow telemedicine as an option to establish a VCPR. By Seth Melson, DVM, Swine Vet Center As news of Iowa's VCPR changes have come into action, many producers have been left wondering what that means for their operations. What constitutes a VCPR in my state? Why do I need one? How do I know if my VCPR is valid? Can I use telemedicine for this purpose? These are all questions we have heard in the last year.
Farmers for Soil Health offers financial assistance for cover crop adoption
Farmers in 20 states can now enroll in cost-share programs through Farmers for Soil Health. This corn, pork and soy commodity initiative, in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, establishes financial and technical assistance for corn and soybean farmers who adopt cover crops. The focus is to bring money directly back to farmers, where sustainability is happening at the farm level.
Farm Progress America, August 15, 2023
Mike Pearson takes a look at the most recent farmland value survey released by the USDA and finds out how much land prices have increased. The price of farmland has seen a 3-year climb. Farmers and investors have been busy buying up land as it has come up for sale. It's been a fight between the two because investors see the land as a stable place to invest. The USDA-NASS released the 2023 summary last week and it showed a 7 1/2 percent increased from 2022.
APHIS seeks to strengthen Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is seeking comments on a proposed rule to amend regulations governing its Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection program user fees. APHIS and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection jointly administer the AQI program, which assures that cargo and passenger baggage entering the country is inspected for plant pests and potential sources of animal diseases that could affect U.S. agriculture, trade and commerce.
U.S. pork finds growth abroad while domestic demand drags
Welcome to another installment of Dr. Demand here at NHF’s weekly update! I don’t think it is a mystery to anyone why I spend so much time talking about demand. It is obviously a critical factor and pork and hog pricing.
Steve Meyer | National Hog Farmer
Steve Meyer joins Kerns and Associates, Ames, Iowa. As Kerns team member, Meyer will be speaking, developing and delivering economic data and analyses, and working with our clients to provide critical perspectives as they benchmark and drive risk management decisions. Previously, Meyer served as vice president of Pork Analysis for EMI. Meyer conducted ongoing analysis of hog and pork markets.
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