The Director of Risk Management with HAMS Marketing Services is advising pork producers to take advantage of strong futures and lock in prices as new highs are established on a lot of the spring and summer month contracts. As a result of reduced slaughter hog supplies due to health challenges in the U.S., 2022 has been among the three most profitable years for pork producers over the past decade.

The Director of Risk Management with HAMS Marketing Services is advising pork producers to lock in their feed costs as they forward contract their hog production.

The Director of Risk Management with HAMS Marketing Services suggests access to labor will be the biggest challenge as the pork packing plants gear up for the heavier fall and winter and hog production.

The Director of Risk Management with HAMS Marketing Services is advising pork producers to lock in hog prices for the early winter to early spring months for about 25 percent of their production.

The Director of Risk Management with HAMS Marketing Services says profitability in the swine sector through this winter and into early spring will depend largely on feed grain prices. The cash hog supply has tightened due to typical seasonal trends combined with lower growth performance due to the hot weather, especially in the U.S. Midwest, and that has pushed cash hog prices to some of the highest levels seen in years.

The Director of Risk Management with HAMs Marketing Services is advising pork producers in western Canada to focus on margins rather than the price of hogs or the price of feed as they make their forward contracting decisions.