The pork industry is always up against variables and unknowns that make the future hard to predict. Although these economists admit they don’t have a crystal ball about what’s coming in 2026, they offer up these important marketing reminders for producers to consider as they head into a new year.
1. Be flexible, but decisive.
“There is a distinct difference between risk and uncertainty because producers can manage risk, but not uncertainty,” says Lee Schulz, chief economist at Ever.Ag. “Have a price risk management plan in place—and follow it. A well-structured plan will be flexible, allowing for adjustments in response to volatile and changing market conditions.”
When it comes to evaluating performance of the execution of the plan, measure it against the appropriate objective, he adds.
“Price risk management is the coordinated and economical application of strategies to minimize, monitor and control the probability of adverse price movements,” Schulz says. “Oftentimes the biggest reason for failure to repeatedly use price risk management is that performance is compared against what could have been. Always hitting market highs for hogs and lows for corn and soybean meal inputs is an unrealistic goal.
No one strategy is optimal all the time, he points out. The best tools and timing in 2025 may not be the case in 2026.
2. Change with the pork market.
“Understand the way in which the pork market is changing and change with it,” explains Altin Kalo, chief economist at Steiner Consulting. “There are a myriad ways in which to price hogs and increasingly the market is moving towards using the cutout to price pork.”
Producing high quality pork and getting paid for it should be the goal, he points out.
“Robust demand and slow supply growth should be positive for wholesale pork prices (cutout) in 2026 and producers should work to align with it,” Kalo says.
3. Challenge the pork norm.
“Equipped with the new marketing program, “Taste What Pork Can Do,” producers have a significant opportunity to challenge the 20+ year pork norm,” says Brian Earnest, lead economist, animal protein at CoBank.
Just like anything, there will be challenges, he says.
“Conversations are ongoing on how to support this initiative from value add to new cuts to elevating premium pork,” Earnest says. “There will be producer implications. That said, the market could get a bit bumpy along the way, so it is important to continue to hone and strengthen your risk management strategies.”
4. Focus on operational efficiency.
“Learn from the recent downturn and address operational weaknesses,” adds Chris Ford, vice president corporate swine lender with Farm Credit Services of America. “Prioritize margin protection over chasing market highs. Volatility in feed costs, interest rates, policy and futures has never been greater—risk management is essential.”
Check out Farm Journal’s PORK 2026 Outlook Series:
Patience Paid in 2025: What the Pork Industry Learned This Year
