The fun part about being a pork producer is that there are so many things you have to keep your eye on, says Keith Schoettmer, a pork producer from Tipton, Ind.
“The landscape is continually changing. I wish at the end of every year of my nearly 50-year career, I would have written down the challenge of the year,” Schoettmer says. “But sometimes it’s nice to look ahead and anticipate some of the challenges.”
Tariffs and Trade in 2025
Tariffs came up over and over again in conversations with Schoettmer and other pork producers at the Midwest Pork Conference when asked what challenges they anticipate this year.
“We have an administration change that’s coming and talking some about tariffs. While sometimes we think we know what that means to our industry, I’m not sure we do,” Schoettmer says. “It’s going to be interesting to see how that unfolds.”
The U.S. is exporting close to 30% of all the pork produced, points out Mark Legan, a pork producer and grain farmer in Coatesville, Ind. Exports are vitally important to U.S. pork producers.
“We’ve already singled out Mexico, Canada and China, three of our four largest export markets, that additional tariffs are going to be slapped on,” Legan says. “That’s a concern going forward. If we do see the increase in tariffs and a corresponding decrease in pork that’s exported, it’s going to be tough. Because with any meat product, you can’t store it for too long. You either sell it or smell it.”
If exports drop, that puts a lot of product back on the domestic market, he adds.
“I guess the good thing is the pig numbers have been down compared to what USDA was projecting for this time of the year. And we keep hearing of sow farms going out. We’re getting production in line with what utilization could be in the future,” Legan says.
Take Advantage of Opportunity
Even with the concern about tariffs, pork exports have been on fire, he says. The U.S. Meat Export Federation continues to work to diversify markets throughout Central and South America as well as Southeast Asia, especially as Europeans decrease production due to added costs and regulatory pressure. Legan says it creates some real opportunities for U.S. pork producers.
“U.S. producers are committed to producing a quality product,” he says. “Look at Colombia, for example. They’ve doubled their domestic per capita consumption of pork just within the last 10 years, and that’s largely because of the quality and safety of U.S. pork. We’ve got a great story when it comes to sustainability and what we’re doing on our farms today, utilizing technology to produce more with less.”
Capitalizing on opportunities to improve efficiencies and capture better prices will be key for producers in 2025, Schoettmer says.
“Let’s make no mistake about it. The industry has had a rough time the last couple of years,” Schoettmer explains. “When we talk about enjoying the prospects of maybe having a good year, that’s just getting back to even for a lot of us. It may sound like an awful goal to get back to even, but it’s a realistic one in the story right now – to gain back some of the equity that we left on the table in 2023.”
Stay Vigilant
There is no question that profitability is always a worry for producers, says Jason Propst of Neoga, Ill. Although opportunities for profits in 2025 look good, animal health could always turn that fast.
“With winter here, it’s important to keep tabs on pig health,” Propst says. “Animal health has a tendency to have flare-ups during this time.”
The industry continues to wrestle with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, Legan says. With the reliance the U.S. has on export markets, he reminds producers to stay vigilant in keeping foreign animal diseases like African swine fever (ASF) out.
“Keep biosecurity in check all the time,” Schoettmer says. “Most herds do a very good job of watching their biosecurity not transmitting these viruses and bacteria from herd to herd. We need to be sure that we’ve taken every reasonable protection we can to ensure the safety of our animals from a pathogen that we may not be present or vice versa, as we might be near other animals that we don’t want to share anything with either.”
Don’t forget when animals are experiencing health challenges, it can also be more stressful on producers and caretakers.
“We’ve seen many producers go through a lot of struggles lately,” Propst says. “As we go forward, I just want to make sure that everybody is doing well and continues to be upbeat.”
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