Capital Update – For the Week Ending Feb. 21, 2025
In the National Pork Producers Council’s (NPPC) weekly recap: NPPC’s Cook says pork industry outlook improving in 2025; Chavez-DeRemer has hearing to be Labor Secretary; NPPC’s Stevermer to testify before Senate Ag Committee; and Pork Forum set for mid-March. Take a deeper dive below.
Capital Update Audio Version Now Available!
NPPC’s Cook: Pork Industry Outlook Improving in 2025
What happened: NPPC economist Holly Cook provided a hog market update and economic outlook on a webinar for members of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.
Overall, profit conditions have improved significantly for pork producers compared to 12 months ago. Cook highlighted reports from Iowa State University showing that the average return for farrow to finish producers in 2024 was a negative $1 per hog, as severe losses in Q1 2024 were nearly offset by positive returns from April to December, averaging $7 per head. This represents a significant improvement from how producers entered 2024.
Cook’s update also showed:
- The average cost of production in 2024 decreased by 12%, or $24 per head, due to lower average feed costs.
- Average producer-sold net hog prices for mid-February were up $10 per carcass hundred weight compared with the same week last year; weekly net negotiated prices were up $17.
- Hog slaughter is down 1.1% year-to-date, but due to heavier carcass weights, pork production is down less than 1%.
- USDA forecasts show a 2.7% increase in pork production along with a 4.0% increase in hog prices expected for 2025.
- The breeding herd over the past five years has declined 8.4%, but continued growth in the number of pigs saved per litter resulted in a new record-high pig crop reported for the September-November period.
- Pork exports set new volume and value records in 2024 and remain critical to the wholesale pork demand picture.
Based on reports from USDA’s Risk Management Agency, expected gross margins for hog producers over the next 6 months are the third highest since 2011, behind only 2014 and 2021.
Why it matters: The U.S. pork industry is a vital pillar of our nation’s agricultural economy, contributing more than $62 billion annually and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country. Producers are committed to delivering wholesome, affordable pork products that not only feed millions of families but also drive economic growth and innovation in rural communities.
Chavez-DeRemer has Hearing to be Labor Secretary
What happened: Former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) had her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to be President Trump’s Labor Department secretary.
Chavez-DeRemer, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University, Fresno, formerly was mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon. She served one term in Congress, representing Oregon’s fifth district.
NPPC’s take: NPPC supports the nomination of Chavez-DeRemer for Labor secretary and will work with her on issues important to the U.S. pork industry, such as year-round H-2A visas.
Look Ahead:
NPPC’s Stevermer to Testify Before Ag Committee
Look Ahead: NPPC President Lori Stevermer, a pork producer from Easton, Minnesota, will testify Wednesday about the state of the U.S. pork industry before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. It’s the second of two hearings examining “Perspectives from the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy.”
Stevermer, who will join several other agriculture leaders at the hearing, will discuss the policies and programs Congress can approve to provide pork producers some certainty and support, including passage of a new Farm Bill, with provisions fixing California’s Proposition 12, protecting livestock agriculture from foreign animal diseases, and funding U.S. agricultural export promotion programs.
Click here to watch the hearing live on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Pork Forum Set for Mid-March
Look Ahead: NPPC and the National Pork Board will hold their joint annual business meeting – the National Pork Industry Forum – March 12-14 in Orlando, Florida.
NPPC will install new officers and elect new members to its board of directors. It also will consider resolutions on industry issues and announce the winners of the Lois Britt Memorial Pork Industry Scholarship and the Neil Dierks Scholarship.