But now the industry is recovering, if not thriving, after surviving a tumultuous 18 months and trying to regain losses from that period.
"It's a two-sided coin. Prices have definitely recovered from a year ago. Having said that, a ton of equity was lost in the industry," said Bryan Black, a fourth-generation hog farmer in Canal Winchester and former president of the National Pork Producers Council.
Not only have prices bounced back, due in part to fewer hogs available which thus drives up prices, but Russia and China in the spring started importing pork again and there are signs the economy is recovering, albeit unsteadily.
Export revenues for pork are up 9 percent this year through May, according to figures from the U. S. Department of Agriculture and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
Black said about 20 percent of Ohio pork is exported.
He added that there are fewer pigs in inventory, but producers are getting higher prices for those pigs, therefore increasing profits. Black is quick to note, however, that producers still are trying to recoup losses from the downturn.
"At the peak we were losing $30 to $40 per head but now it's $20 to $25 per head profit. But the profit margin is going to take a while to even itself out," Black said. "There are fewer pigs out there so the prices increase. It's going to take a while to recover."
The drop in feed costs helps. Corn at one point was $7 per bushel but it's now less than $4 a bushel, according to the Associated Press.
"Back then we were below the break-even point because of the high feed costs. Corn and soybeans were at record prices; now they've leveled off a bit," said Black. "The pig numbers in Ohio is static or slightly increasing."
A year ago pork producers were dealing with an issue over which they had virtually no control.
At the time there was worldwide concern of a possible flu epidemic, the H1N1 flu, a variation of the "swine flu."
Pigs can get the swine flu but it rarely is transmitted to humans through consumption, according to the Center of Disease Control's website.
As a result of the possible H1N1 outbreak many consumers avoided pork, leaving pork producers with a marketing nightmare.
"Our industry spent a lot of money promoting that the product is safe," said Black.
The downturn in the industry led to many producers, especially smaller ones, scrambling to stay in business. Some, in fact couldn't stay afloat, including some in Ohio.
"The industry is more consolidated. There are fewer producers. The industry is changing and it will continue to change," Black said.
He said the sow inventory has stabilized after a couple of years of dropping significantly.
"It used to be 20 pigs per sow per year and now it is 30 or better," Black said.
Ohio has approximately 4,100 farms with pigs, and those farms employ more than 10,000 workers, according to the Pork Producers Council.
The farms have an annual revenue of $420 million.
Ohio is ninth in the nation in the number of hogs sold, about 4 million a year., RICK ADAMCZAK, Daily Reporter Staff Writer, Copyright 2010, The Daily Reporter, 580 S. High St., Columbus, OH., A year ago Ohio pork producers were reeling from a perfect storm of factors that nearly crippled the industry., publish, open, , , Ohio pork producers recovering from industry downturn, 2011-11-07 20:58:36, , 0, , Pork, Producers, Swine Flu, Economy, Recovering, Recovery, 0, 1, 1, article, 1, 0, 0, 2010-08-02, 2, 2">
Toledo Legal News : News