Farmers trying to rebuild their shrinking hog herds are holding on to mother pigs longer, pushing up the price of meat prized by sausage-makers.
For U.S. producers, it’s a tug-of-war between hanging on to mother pigs to breed more piglets or sending the sows off to slaughter to take advantage of the highest prices in years for meat sought after for its flavorful fat content.
The welcome dilemma marks a turnaround from a year ago, and sets the stage for the U.S. industry to resume a herd expansion after a pandemic-driven contraction.
“Farmers are getting optimistic that there’s going to be a market for pork,” Len Steiner, principal of
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