With the pork industry walking a tightrope between high hog prices and high feed prices, consumers begin seeing the consequences–record-high prices for pork.
"Producers will be receiving record-high prices for their hogs, but also paying record-high prices for feed," said Chris Hurt, a Purdue University Extension economist. "The outlook is in balance right now as hog prices are expected to be high enough to cover feed prices. However, the consequence of losing that balance could have extreme financial consequences on producers if consumers balk at high pork prices or weather threatens 2011 crops."
Why are corn and hog prices moving in the same direction? Hurt said one reason is that meat supplies have been sharply reduced over the past four years.
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