Canned meat and UHT milk saw a surge in sales at the start of the pandemic as people stocked up their cupboards, and sales have decreased since then. But with the financial impact of inflation, can these foods represent a way to ease financial pressure on households? Have sales remained elevated? They spiked during the pandemic, but… 

• Canned meat volumes have returned to the decline they were experiencing before, which shows that the upsurge in sales was short-lived. With increased focus on h...

USDA economist Mildred Haley remarks that the hog market in 2022 is likely going to be characterized by reduced pork supplies with continued sharply higher pork prices.

• So far this year, slaughter numbers have been lower and have kept production below the levels of those earlier this year, while carcass weights have averaged higher. 

Haley said lower seasonal production is not atypical for mid-to-late summer months but is significant from a demand perspective: consumers typically increase ...

Yet another piece of news where ASF is “taking a trip” somewhere… This time, samples of unwell pigs from the Patiala district – Punjab, India – have tested positive for African swine fever (ASF), Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said on Friday.  

• The villages of Bilaspur and Sanauri Adda have been declared as the “epicenter”; areas within a one-kilometer radius from these villages have been considered “infected zones” and those within 10 km are considered “surveillance zones”; and the whole of P...

The CDC has reported another human infection with an influenza (flu) virus that usually spreads only in pigs. Four such infections have been registered in the U.S. so far in 2022. 

• This usually happens every year in settings where pigs and humans coexist, but the problem now is that one case occurred in a person who reported no contact with the animals or attendance at an agricultural fair. 
• 10% of the reported variant flu virus infections in the country since 2010 have occurred in people wh...

We all know that we aren’t only a swine industry - we are also a people industry. We need people to keep our farms running and we need these people to be properly trained and enjoy what they do so they stick around. In this episode, I talk with Sara Pardall about her experiences as a swine farm manager as she shares insights and techniques to train employees and how to build a strong team of swine professionals.

What you will learn:

1. Training farm staff

2. Introducing employees on the ...

Reuters reported that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures rose on Tuesday to their highest level since April. Feeder cattle futures were also high, while lean hog futures fell to their lowest level in more than a week.

• Tightening livestock supplies are a concern: the projection is that cattle will become more expensive next year and beef production will decline.
• Feeder cattle futures rose with the boost the market got from declining prices for grains used for animal fee...

U.S. pork exports have lowered overall, but exports to Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean have surged. 

• Strong exports in the first half of 2022 have made Mexico the leading market for American pork – for hams and shoulders in particular.

In total, pork exports around the globe account for about 26% of pork production so far this year.

The success is thanks to the NPB’s (National Pork Board) strategic partnership with the USMEF (U.S. Meat Export Federation) to pro...