Beef, Hog Trends Over 30 Years Analyzed

By Brenda Murphy, Managing Editor
Thursday, September 1, 2005 12:16 PM CDT

Since 1975 Wisconsin has seen a gradual downward slope when comparing the number of head of beef produced. However, the number of farms decreased at a much more rapid pace, meaning the farms that were still operating were stocking more cattle.

Overall, the United States saw the same trend - rapidly dwindling beef farms or ranches but a steady supply of beef. The graphs are also indicative of when the markets favored American beef.

Recent years in Wisconsin show a gain in the number of head stocked. You'll remember that this was also a time when Atkins and other low carbohydrate/high-protein diets were popular. These consumer trends helped to fuel supportive prices for beef.

Nationally, the market has suffered some since 2003 when a cow in Washington State was found to have bovine spongiform encephalapathy (BSE). This shutdown many of the international markets the United States could ship its beef. The discovery of BSE in the United States also shut off the flow of stocker cattle from Canada.

Fewer cattle from Canada have helped support higher prices for American beef, but at a compromise. Areas with lower numbers of cattle, or areas that depended highly upon Canadian beef cattle have seen stockyards closed or limit their capacities because of fewer cattle to fill the yard.

The border essentially remains closed. Only cattle less than 30 months of age are allowed to cross the border and those animals must be headed for slaughter. It may be some time yet before a decision is decided whether or not to open the border completely or again limit the cattle crossing. There are groups on both sides petitioning for their voice to be heard loudest when the final decision is made.

Wisconsin and the United States produced the most cattle in 1975 at 4,640 thousand head and 132,027 thousand head respectively. The fewest were produced in Wisconsin in 2002 at 3,300 thousand head and the entire United States saw its slowest year for beef production last year with just 94,888 thousand head.

Hogs production steady

Despite the significant decrease in the number of hog producing farms in the United States, the number of hogs produced has been steady - if not increasing. The significant decline in the number of farms in Wisconsin is also happening across the United States. Smaller farms are going out of business while larger farms keep growing.

The consumer demand for pork has remained steady, strengthened by the advertising campaign "Pork - The Other White Meat." Pork has also been included in many diets as a way to gain protein intake without adding much fat.

Wisconsin's decline in the number of hogs and farms can be seen as early as the 1980's. During this time and for a number of years to follow, slaughter plants around the state quit accepting hogs. Wisconsin slaughter facilities in Madison, Fort Atkinson, Milwaukee and even plants in Dubuque, Iowa, were closed and producers were forced to find new places to market their hogs.

Transportation then became an issue. Producers now had to haul their hogs much further to slaughter facilities in Illinois, southcentral Iowa or Minnesota. Producers were also being paid differently. They had been being paid by the live weight of the animal. The pricing structure changed and producers are now paid on carcass weight.

Another detriment to the hog industry was several years of extremely low prices. Even fewer than 10 years ago producers were receiving prices of $8 or $9 per hundredweight for their hogs. Many producers estimated their cost for producing a hog to be $80 - $100 - even some of the most efficient producers were reporting costs of production at more than $50 per hog. Receiving just $16 to $20 per pig was actually costing the producer to raise his product. The mid to late 90's saw quite a few producers exiting the market because of this.

Last year saw the fewest hogs in Wisconsin with just 430 thousand head, while in the United States hogs maintained their numbers at almost 61,000 thousand head. The United States produced the fewest hogs in 1975 when it stocked 49,267 thousand head.

Just four short years later, the United States had its largest inventory of hogs - in 1979, 67,318 thousand head were fed. Wisconsin helped fuel that large national herd. It had it's biggest number of hogs that same year at 1,830 thousand head.

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