Business Matters
Drought Damage is not Yet Done
The drought has impacted the feed markets in several ways. Feed prices rose with the summer temperatures and only started to break down with the harvest.
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Feed Choices for the Year Ahead
In normal years, harvest brings with it the anticipation of bins full or overflowing with corn and soybeans, but this year’s drought has changed such expectations.
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Business Strategies for Tough Times
Six months ago discussions focused on how growth in the North American breeding herd was inevitable and expansion would be the biggest issue we faced in the near term.
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The Weather Run in the Crop Markets
The nearly ideal spring weather conditions led to a strong surge in crop plantings. Corn was seeded on 96.4 million acres, which was the most corn area since 1937. Soybean acreage also increased this year, with 76.1 million acres planted.
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Stay Ahead of Space Limitations
By the time you read this article, the Midwest’s construction boom will be well underway. While no one can put an exact number on how many new grow/finish, wean/finish and nursery units are going up, I’ve heard at least one lender estimate 1.2 million new pig spaces for this year.
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More Pork and Corn in 2012
USDA released three crucial reports at the end of March: the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report, the Quarterly Grain Stocks Report and the Planting Intentions Report.
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Weigh Your Many Options
Thanks to a profitable environment for the pork industry dating back to June 2010, producers have rebuilt their balance sheets to respectable levels.
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Start Summer Strategies Early
For pork producers, mid-to-late March is really the time to start thinking about summer. A well-accepted fact of the business is that market-hog weights decline during summer months, although the amount varies somewhat due to location.
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Prospects for a Profitable Year
As we enter 2012, the livestock and crop markets saw some sizable swings. Worries about demand and economic weakness (especially in Europe) pushed prices down, while concerns about supplies and extreme weather events pushed prices up.
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MF Global: A Rocky End to a Good Year
Just when we had become accustomed to the volatility in the pork industry, we were thrown a big curve we didn’t see coming. MF Global filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 31, and the fallout has been real for those producers who utilized MF for their clearing services.
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Why do You Raise Hogs?
I spend significant time on farms working with producers and production systems on a variety of problems. I also spend time thinking about the industry’s changing structure — not only where we’re raising pigs today, but the ownership issues.
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