Ears to the Ground: World Pork Expo Conversations Focus on Top Industry Issues
As pork producers filled the Iowa State Fairgrounds on the first day of the 2023 World Pork Expo, Farm Journal’s PORK took to the streets to hear from those in the industry attending the event.
Talking with producers from across the country, these folks shared the reasons why they go and what they believe to be the number one topic in the industry today.
Why do you keep coming back to World Pork Expo?
Karl Johnson, a pork producer from North Mankota, Minn., says seeing old friends and the new technology have encouraged him to keep coming back for over 30 years.
Also attending expo for more than 30 years, David Roper of Magic Valley Pork in Idaho says he makes the trip to see new and innovative technology in the industry, as well as meet face-to-face with other producers and companies to learn about new ideas and opportunities for the operation.
While meeting new and old friends, conversations about the industry fill the air.
What is the number one topic or issue in the pork industry today?
This year, the discussion of California’s Proposition 12 law is top of mind across a majority of producers.
Roper says animal welfare, specifically Prop 12, has him questioning if producers are losing power, while other threats to the business, including foreign animal disease and the economy, are his priority issues.
Profitability seems to be a close second in pork producers’ top concerns, as Johnson explains how profitability may become an even bigger challenge with the implementation of Prop 12.
“You're paying a lot of attention to your cash flow—not on a yearly or monthly but on a weekly basis. You know, what's coming in and what's going out? It's one day at a time, one foot in front of the other,” says Trish Cook, Iowa Pork Producers Association president and Iowa pork producer in a recent AgriTalk conversation.
Labor shortages and disease pressures are also concerns of Iowa State University Extension specialist and producer Matt Romoser.
“I think a lot of it right now is just keeping pigs alive. It's challenging with labor and labor in shortage, but you know, I think disease pressures puts a whole other dynamic into it. When you think about, as you put $6 corn into a market hog and you lose them in late finishing, how costly that is,” Romoser explains on AgriTalk.
He adds how it’s a matter of producers continuing to do the best they can to maximize throughput through barns and make sure every pig that starts on feed can be taken through to the finished product.
When it comes to finishing hogs, Pat Hord, an Ohio pork producer, says lighter hog weights are on his radar, but it can be a slippery slope that could lead to getting docked by the packer in the end. “We are trying to thread a needle right now,” he describes on AgriTalk.
From Prop 12 and profitability, to labor and disease, conversations on these hard topics may help pork producers gather new, innovative ideas, while remembering they are not alone in this vocation.
We will be uniting together June 5-11 for PORK Week across all of our Farm Journal platforms to elevate the important role the pork industry plays in feeding the world. Share your stories and post photos on social media using #PORKWeek23 to help us honor the pork industry. From “AgDay TV” to “AgriTalk” to “U.S. Farm Report” to PorkBusiness.com and everything in between, tune in and join us as we acknowledge the most noble profession there is: feeding people.
