Overview

Producers are tailoring their operations to meet consumer demands for pork products. Some are adjusting production systems to raise pork that can be labeled natural or organic. Another related way is by raising pork using a verification process. Other producers are taking proactive approaches at selling their own products directly to customers and foodservice operators. Some are involved with their own product processing.  March 2008 . . . Commodity Pork


Sources

• Economic Research Service, Briefing Room - Hogs/Pork
• Economic and Structural Relationships in U.S. Hog Production, Economic Research Service, USDA, February 2003 - This study reviews the structural changes taking place in the U.S. pork industry.
• Factors Affecting Pork Consumption (pdf), Economic Research Service, USDA, May 2005 - Pork ranks third in annual U.S. meat consumption. This report analyzes existing and potential pork consumption trends using demographic data. 
• Iowa’s Changing Swine Industry – Iowa State University, January 2006.
• Meat Packer Vertical Integration and Contract Linkages in the Beef and Pork Industries: An Economic Perspective, Iowa State University, 2000. Funded by the American Meat Institute - This 103-page report summarizes linkages among meat packers and livestock producers for the U.S. pork and beef industries.
• Pork (Domestic Production and International Trade Information), FASonline, USDA.  
• Vertical Coordination of Marketing Systems: Lessons from the Poultry, Egg and Pork Industries, Economic Research Service, USDA, 2002 - This 45-page report reviews how these three industries placed a premium on quality control and information to improve the control of production.

Marketing

• Beef and Pork Values and Price Spreads Explained, Economic Research Service, USDA, February 2003 - This study found that prices tend to adjust more rapidly when increasing rather than decreasing. Information is provided on price spread calculations and the relationship between marketing costs and livestock prices.
• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Fact Sheets - A set of 24 fact sheets and related slide presentations are available to help producers deal with revised federal regulations for CAFOs. A team of land-grant university faculty, Natural Resource Conservation Service staff and National Pork Board staff collaborated on the project.
• Consumer Attitudes Toward Color and Marbling of Fresh Pork (pdf), National Pork Board and American Meat Science Association - This fact sheet, compiled by the National Pork Board in association with the American Meat Science Association, reports research results on consumer preferences for fresh pork.
• Consumer Preference, Attitude and Acceptance of Pork, Iowa State University, January 2006 - Consumers are uncertain about the color and marbling qualities of pork that translate into excellent eating qualities.
• Evaluation of Alternative Coordination Systems Between Producers and Packers in the Pork Value Chain, Purdue University, 2003 - This study quantifies the differences in risk and price associated with alternative coordination mechanisms.  
• Investment in Downstream Publicly Traded Firms as a Vertical Integration Strategy to Increase Returns and Reduce Annual Volatility for Pork Producers, Purdue Agricultural Economics Report, August 2003 - The objective of this research was to investigate the potential of a value-added portfolio consisting of investments of pork production and publicly traded value-added processing companies that will reduce the annual volatility of returns and improve annual returns relative to investing strictly in pork production.
• Pork: Marketing Alternatives, April 2004 - This publication offers producers alternative marketing approaches, such as direct or niche marketing, for their pork.
• Valuing Market Hogs: Information and Pricing Issues, Kansas State University - This 20-page online publication focuses on four major issues in slaughter hog market structure and pricing. It includes a summary of technology used to measure pork quality composition and fresh meat quality.

Processing/Manufacturing

• American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP) - Represents more than 1,500 small- and medium-sized meat, poultry and food businesses.  
• Food Safety and Inspection Service’s Safety of Fresh Pork From Farm to Table - This site provides an overview of pork inspection, retail cuts, how long consumers can store fresh and frozen pork and how long it takes to cook pork.
• North American Meat Processors Association (NAMP) - A nonprofit trade association that provides information and technical services to the meat processing industry.
• Selling Meat and Meat Products - Federal, state or local agency inspection is mandatory for any meat or meat product before it can be sold. This publication explains various product categories and tells which inspection each one requires. University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources free download (6-page pdf). Includes links to regulatory references and other useful resources. ANR Product Code 8146.
• Pork Fact Sheets, American Meat Science Association.

Production

• The Alternative Swine Production Systems Program, University of Minnesota - The mission of this program is to promote research and development of low-emission and low-energy swine housing such as hoop structures, deep-bedded systems and outdoor/pasture based systems.
• Banff Pork Seminar - This annual conference held in Banff, Alberta, Canada, is regarded as one of the premier pork seminars. By selecting the Proceedings link, you may search past presentations.
• The Changing Economics of U.S. Hog Production, December 2007, Economic Research Service, USDA.  Structural changes in the U.S. pork industry during the past 15 years have coincided with gains in efficiency and lower production costs.
• Characteristics and Production Costs of U.S. Hog Operations, 2004.  Economic Research Service, USDA, December 2007 - Operations specializing in a single production phase generated more than three times the product value, on average, than farrow-to-finish operations.
• Pork Industry Handbook, Purdue University Extension, 2007 - This handbook is regarded as the premier reference for modern U.S. pork production. It is available in book or DVD formats.

Businesses/Case Studies

• Vande Rose Farms is an Iowa company that raises pork and owns a catering business. The company is comprised of three extended families (Van Gilst, DeBruin and Rozenboom), whose ancestors emigrated from Holland more than 100 years ago. June 2006.

Links checked February 2008.