Economist: 2023 'would go down as the worst year for pork producers ever' in Iowa

Associate Professor Lee Schulz was interviewed by WQAD for the story "Economist: 2023 'would go down as the worst year for pork producers ever' in Iowa." The article examines US hog producer's returns in 2023. Schulz told WQAD that "When you look at hog prices, actually 2023 were the seventh highest nominal hog prices ever," Schulz said. "But when you look at costs of production, it was historically high. To put it in perspective, it was over 50% increase from 2020. And so prices haven't adjusted enough to offset those much higher costs."