October 18, 2013
US live hog pricing determined despite government shutdown
The confidence of North American pork producers in the manner in which live hog prices are determined remains intact despite the partial shutdown of US government services.
The general manager of h@ms Marketing Services, Perry Mohr reports.
As a result of the US federal funding stalemate in Congress non-essential US government services including the USDA's tracking of hog pricing information used by industry to establish live hog prices on a daily basis have been suspended.
In the absence of this information, North American pork processors have adopted a variety of options over the past three weeks to set live hog prices.
Mohr says the processing industry on both sides of the border has had to scramble to find alternative methods to price hogs.