EASTON, Minn. – A new report recently released by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is showing the impact America’s pig farmers have on the U.S. agricultural and overall economy.

“America’s pork industry is a vital pillar of our nation’s agricultural economy, contributing over $62 billion annually, and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country,” said Lori Stevermer, NPPC president, and an Easton pork producer.

“Producers are committed to delivering wholesome, affordable, sustainable pork products that not only feed millions of families, but also drive economic growth and innovation in rural communities,” she added.

According to the report, which highlights the U.S. pork industry’s value chain contributions and trends in production and industry structure:

- The pork industry supports an estimated 573,311 direct, indirect, and induced jobs in the United States.

- In 2023, more than 60,000 pig farms sold more than 149 million hogs worth over $27 billion in gross cash receipts.

- The U.S pork industry supports more than $37 billion in personal income and boosts economic activity in related services such as trucking, grain elevators, insurance, and other rural-based businesses.

- Approximately 25 percent of U.S. pork was exported abroad in 2023, amounting to nearly 7 billion pounds of pork valued at over $8 billion. Pork exports help support more than 143,000 U.S. jobs.

- The pork industry generates significant economic activity through its purchase of inputs. Feed inputs, such as corn and soybean meal, account for an estimated 52 percent of total U.S. production costs, with purchases valued at nearly $13 billion annually.

The report also said United States hog inventories have varied cyclically over time, but have trended upward from 59.1 million head in 2000, to 75.8 million head in December 2023. This includes 136 million pig crop born in the U.S., and in-shipments from Canada of 4.9 million feeder pigs fed in the U.S., and 1.7 million processed in U.S. packing plants.

Moreover, approximately 5 percent of U.S. hogs are on farms with less than 2,000 head in total inventory; 20 percent of the inventory is on farms with 2,000–4,999 head; and 75 percent are on farms with 5,000-plus or more hogs.

Compared with the 2017 Census of Agriculture, there are now about 5,419 fewer farms in the smallest category; 151 fewer farms in the middle category; and 60 fewer farms with inventories greater than 5,000, the report added.

“Last year brought significant financial challenges for U.S. pork producers, marked by decreased gross cash receipts, and a substantially higher average cost of production in 2023,” said Holly Cook, NPPC economist. “Despite these hurdles, this report demonstrates that the pork industry remains a vital contributor to the nation’s economy, and a key player in global trade.”

When asked how the data are gathered and analyzed, Meghan Cline, NPPC director of policy communications, told Farm World, “To estimate the industry’s total economic contribution, we start by looking at current levels of hog and pork production in the United States, and the inputs that are required to produce the current volume of hogs.

“This serves as the basis for our analysis,” she added. “We use a variety of USDA data sources, including the Census of Agriculture, and the USDA Meat Animals Production, Disposition, Income Summary Report. Input estimates come from cost-of-production budgets developed by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.”

She said, “We then used the IMPLAN modeling system (which stands for ‘impact analysis for planning’ that calculates direct, indirect, and induced impacts arising from a policy change or event) to capture the ripple effect that pork production has on the entire economy.

“This report shows that the U.S. pork industry is fueling jobs and economic growth across the country, with much of that impact occurring in areas where hog farms and pork processing facilities are located,” she added.

She said, “The total economic contribution of the pork industry includes not only the direct impact of hog farming and pork processing, but also captures the indirect impact on other industries through the purchase of inputs, and the induced activity that is generated when incomes supported by the pork industry are spent in local businesses.”

To read the full report, visit: https://nppc.org/the-pork-industry/.