Pork production is poised to top beef next year for the first time since
the 1950s in the United States.
There are fewer pigs this year than last because of Porcine Epidemic
Diarrhea virus, but high market hog prices while feed costs are declining has resulted
in fat profit margins and an aggressive expansion.
Beef production has been in long decline, especially in Canada where the
industry has been hit by difficult marketing to the U.S. because of Country of
Origin labeling that forces meat packers to keep separate production and
processing lines.
Bob Young, chief economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation is being quoted
by the popular press pointing to the likelihood that there will be more pork
than beef on the U.S. market next year.