Source: Chuck Abbott, SUCCESSFUL FARMING, 10/19/20


Hog farmers struggled with a coronavirus-caused backlog of market-ready hogs that peaked at 3.5 million head at the end of May, forcing them to cull some and slow weight gain on others. The backlog remains large, but Purdue economist Jayson Lusk says farmers may see “possibly elevated hog prices” by the end of the year as the hog supply shrinks. “It will take some time to work through the COVID-19 disruptions,” Lusk wrote in the quarterly Purdue Agricultural Economics Report. “Decisions to delay breeding or liquidate sows during the worst of the COVID-19 shutdowns [at packing plants] will likely help further reduce the backlog in the months ahead."

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