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It is an obvious understatement that the US pork industry is changing. It is a more daunting task to quantify how it is changing, what is driving it, and what it may look like in the future. Researchers at the University of Missouri (Rhodes), and more recently Iowa State University, have chronicled pork industry changes for over 25 years, and with the help of PORK magazine have taken a snapshot for the year 2000. Thanks to the hundreds of producers who responded to the survey, we have another stake in the ground by which to measure the changes that are occurring.

In February and March of 2001, two nearly identical surveys were conducted regarding pork production and marketing practices 2000. Information for 1999 and plans for 2001 and 2003 were also collected. One survey was mailed to 8400 pork producing operations marketing between 1,000 and 50,000 hogs annually. This sample was based on PORK magazine’s mailing list, with a random sample drawn from five size categories of producers according to their reported annual market volume. Producers on the second survey list of approximately 150 operations marketing 50,000 or more hogs a year were contacted by telephone. The list was obtained from earlier surveys, personal contacts, and input suppliers to these large firms. If the producers confirmed marketing over 50,000 hogs annually, they were faxed a survey and returned it by fax. Eighteen of the 20 operations marketing 500,000 hogs a year or more participated in the study as did 79 of the 136 operations marketing between 50,000 and 499,999 head annually. Approximately 17 percent of the mail surveys were returned.