Minnesota pork producer Lori Stevermer, the former president of the National Pork Producers Council, saw firsthand how challenging things are in U.S. agriculture and the pork industry. She said there is no doubt that things are rough in the U.S. farm economy.

“I would say these are some interesting and challenging times for our farm economy. If you look at the grain sector, obviously, they’ve got high input costs, low market prices, so they are feeling some losses and not profitability. It’s the opposite, I should say, for the pork industry. Our inputs are low, our market prices are good, and so we are seeing some profitability. But you have to recall that back in ‘23 and ‘24 we went through some pretty severe losses too, so I think that makes it, overall, a challenge for agriculture.”

Lower exports are never good for U.S. agriculture.

I would say all industries, whether you’re crops or pork, exports are an important part of what we do, and so having exports be down slightly this year, or certainly in the case of soybeans, where they’re down significantly, puts pressure on our economy. So, as we know, our farms are the fabric of the rural communities, and so, when our farms and our agriculture are having challenging times, that’s felt throughout the rest of the rural economy.

It’s never been more important for farms to be efficient and take advantage of resources that are there to help.

“You know, I think we all look to the future and wonder how that’s going to impact us in agriculture. It seems like every generation, or maybe every other generation, goes through its challenges. I mean, we had the 1980s farm crisis. We had really high interest rates there. So, some of our younger farmers are experiencing these challenges, maybe for the first time, which doesn’t make it any less important, but relying on good business practices, risk management, and resources around us is really key.”

It’s also important that every segment of agriculture advocates for itself, including pork…tape

“We were in Washington, D.C., in September, and we had our legislative fly-in, and I give credit to our producers for showing up and visiting with their members of Congress and talking about what they do, because that’s key. Once again, as we look at this farm economy and the challenges, not just with prices, but as you alluded to, with labor, which has been a concern of ours for a number of years. I mean, we need people to work on our farms. We need people to work in our packing plants. There’s just not enough labor or bodies in the rural areas, and so, talking about some type of visa reform, H-2A visas, which are only seasonal. How can they be year-round, so we can get them working?”