Markets and economics

After initial disruptions by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, pork packing plants have recovered and are running at a 96% harvest capacity overall.  During a recent webinar, Dr. Steve Meyer, Partners for Production Agriculture, provided attendees with an update on the current state of the pork industry and an outlook for cost of production and profitability in 2021.

During a recent Vita Plus Swine Team Webinar, Dr. Steve Meyer, Kerns and Associates, provided attendees with an update on what pork producers can expect from the corn, soybean and hog markets for the rest of the year.

Vita Plus will be offering a virtual Swine Summit focused on the global pork market outlook on Thursday, March 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST.  We hope you can join us!

By the Vita Plus swine team
The Vita Plus swine nutrition team understands the challenges you are facing, and we are dedicated to helping you be successful, regardless of market conditions.  The "Navigating the Storm" series is intended to help you identify some of the areas where the Vita Plus team can help you improve your operation’s profitability.  In part two, we will look at sow and pre-weaned pig management to improve profitability.

By the Vita Plus swine team
The Vita Plus swine nutrition team understands the challenges you are facing, and we are dedicated to helping you be successful, regardless of market conditions.  The "Navigating the Storm" series is intended to help you identify some of the areas where the Vita Plus team can help you improve your operation’s profitability.  In part one, we address management around the time of marketing and how we analyze closeout information to improve profitability. ​

Editor’s note: This is the second article in a three-part series comparing the Canadian pork industry to the U.S. pork industry.

By Garrett Rozeboom
In part one of this series, I compared the exports, imports, and hog census data of the U.S. and Canadian pork industries.  Regardless of the differences, both countries benefit from the other.  In this second part, I will discuss the differences and similarities in swine diet ingredients and formulation methodologies used in both countries.

More than 150 hog producers, industry peers and Vita Plus employee owners attended Vita Plus Swine Summit 2017 on March 29 and 30 in Morton, Minnesota.  Click the links below for complete event coverage, including articles, videos and speaker presentations.

Editor’s note: This is the first article in a three-part series comparing the Canadian pork industry to the U.S. pork industry.

By Garrett Rozeboom
Pork production is a big sector of the Canadian agriculture industry and the Canadian pork industry has established itself as a major player in the global pork supply.  The Canadian pork industry is similar to the U.S. industry in many ways, but some differences also make it unique in the global markets. 

By Nate Brown
If you work in the pork industry, you are well aware of the economic challenges it faces.  Some industry analysts have made comments on the current market conditions that bring back echoes of 1998.

About 200 pork producers, Vita Plus employee owners and industry peers met in Morton, Minnesota for Vita Plus Swine Summit 2016 on March 30 and 31.  In addition to networking with their peers, attendees learned about the latest trends in pork production, management and markets from industry experts. 

By Nate Brown
It wasn’t very long ago when it seemed pork producers couldn’t get pigs heavy enough because the base price was so good the marginal income over feed continued to drop profit into the bottom line. 

Times have changed.