Over the last year, inventory in the hog industry has been down, which Illinois Pork Producers Association Executive Director Jennifer Tirey says is due to increased production costs:
“The breeding herd has declined since 2020 and a lot of that is due to production costs. The cost overall just to raise pigs has increased 21% on 2021 and just the last year and feed costs, which are 60% of costs per head, continue to increase. That is going to mean that our inventories are going to be lower because we just, unfortunately, aren’t able to see a lot of growth and development in the industry because of those costs.”
Tirey informs the increased production costs and lower inventory is also impacting labor in the hog industry. As labor costs are increasing, there is no opportunity for those added costs to be passed back to the consumer, therefore falling back on the farmer.
