5 Pork Industry Opportunities: Win the Battle at the Meat Case

Challenges are often opportunities in disguise. At least that’s what three pork industry leaders expressed during a recent Farm Journal Farm Country Update on the “Top Five Opportunities for the Global Pork industry.”

Each day this week, we’ll highlight one of those challenges that could be an opportunity for the pork industry. 

Put More Innovation on the Shelf

The pandemic brought to light the value of pork in the meat case, said Kent Bang, vice president of swine lending at Compeer Financial, during the webinar.

“We've got a great product at a really reasonable price when you look at it from a meat case standpoint, and I think that's really helped our demand,” Bang said. 

But product innovation is crucial to growing this demand. Although poultry and beef may have an edge in innovation right now, Bang said pork has untapped potential. He believes innovation can put more pork product on the shelf. Consumers need new choices that taste good and are easy to prepare.

Bang pointed to the jump in demand for ground pork in the past two years – in his mind a “wonderful product” – that was simply hard to find in the meat case. 

“Many retailers didn't carry it. I think the National Pork Board has really proven to a lot of retail chains in the Midwest that this is a good product for consumers,” Bang said. “From a demand standpoint, it's a good product. From a revenue standpoint for the grocer, it’s a good product. It’s really a simple product that can help us spur demand.”

Focus on Pork Quality

“A lot of the momentum behind pork demand, or at least in the U.S., has been in strong belly and red primal prices,” said Caleb Shull, director of research and innovation for The Maschhoffs. “But we've seen some of the other primals lag behind. As we look for additional opportunities, it’s a way to create more value for some of the other primals like a loin that has historically been strong.”

One of the ways the industry can do this is through a continued push for quality. In recent years, the U.S. has made a big shift and push toward Duroc-sired pigs throughout the supply chain, Shull explained. 

“I think that's made a big improvement in the quality of our pork. But there's still very few incentives for producers to select for quality,” Shull said. “I think as we look to push that next level of interest, particularly in the loin, we've got to create a good quality product and then be innovative in how we use that product and create it to be more desirable for the consumer.”

Educate Consumers on Proper Cooking Methods

Jimmy Tosh, owner of Tosh Pork in Henry, Tenn., said the National Pork Board’s efforts to teach consumers how to properly cook pork have been a critical step forward in increasing pork’s influence in the meat case. 

“People tend to want to cook it to death – my wife included. I’ve had to work to teach her,” Tosh said. 

Proper cooking methods and techniques can also be applied when encouraging other countries to eat more pork, too. Export demand is very important to the U.S. pork industry. Tosh said he thinks it’s important to building and increasing export demand, too.

Click here to listen or watch the full Farm Country Update webinar.

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