What are the big trends facing pork producers in 2025?

What are the trends and issues facing pork producers in 2025? Dr. Dave Pyburn, managing technical services veterinarian, Zoetis, provides his perspective on pig health, farm labor, economics, and farm automation.

1. Status quo in U.S. herd health status

The U.S. swine industry continues to manage significant health challenges including porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), increasing sow mortality rates and other diseases impacting welfare and productivity.

We seem to be somewhat static right now as far as the overall health of the swine herd heading into 2025. The industry is in the height of the PRRS season – also known as winter – and increasing cases of PRRS can set up herds for other disease issues like influenza, mycoplasma and other respiratory diseases.

The economic impact continues to rise. A new analysis by Iowa State University found the economic toll of PRRS has soared over the last 10 years to $1.2 billion¹.

Sow mortality rates of up to 16-18% mortality or unplanned culling are concerning. That’s way too high. Causes of sow mortality or herd departures can be complex and variable, with several diseases and management issues contributing to the problem.

We’re also watching preweaning piglet scours. In my experience with this issue, we need to encourage monitoring at farrowing and make sure baby piglets find their way immediately to the sow’s udder to get colostrum within the first 30 minutes. Getting a full dose of colostrum leads to fewer scour issues, as well as other disease issues in a baby pig’s life.

PEDv cases appear to be increasing across the country, with cases of porcine deltacoronavirus also trending higher. Like most viruses, these increases correlate with cooler weather.

There is industry interest in eradicating PEDv from the U.S., using the pseudorabies eradication model from the late 1990s; the pseudorabies virus was successfully eradicated from the U.S. (although it was officially declared eradicated in 2002). Stakeholders, including counterparts in Canada, are looking at lessons learned from the pseudorabies project, and what kind of protocols can be put together based on individual farms that have eliminated PEDv.

Eliminating PEDv is not just a pig health issue, it is a human mental health issue and a labor retention issue, because it’s horrible to go through a PEDv outbreak on a sow farm with most of the losses being newborn piglets in the farrowing room.

Takeaway: While all stakeholders work to improve animal health at the farm, regional and national levels, it’s important to learn from each other about ways to adapt herd management and health protocols for improved outcomes.

2. Labor management, training and education

Pig farm employment has declined since 2021, despite higher wages, competitive benefits, and strong demand for workers, according to the National Pork Producers Council.² Recruiting and retaining caregivers is important to pig farm success.

Providing the right kind of training and education can help with employee satisfaction and retention. Engaging new hires with experienced workers in barns helps them learn skills such as how to identify pigs that may need extra attention or veterinary treatment. Classroom-style learning can be effective when paired with and reinforced by hands-on experience so new workers can apply what they’ve learned.

Ongoing education for long-term workers can also support development and promote a culture of professional growth.

Takeaway: Investing in workers for the long term will help sustain our industry.

3. Industry profitability shifting to black

After two-plus years of economic losses, there appears to be some relief in sight in 2025. In the fourth quarter of 2024, industry economics started to shift back to black ink with estimated profits of $5-$12 per pig. It will take some time to rebuild lost equity.³ Exports have also been a bright spot with global exports through September 2024 increasing 5% or a 7% increase in value.⁴ Certain input costs have also become more favorable.

Takeaway: Producers are resilient and continue to manage other inputs to maximize their return on investment.

4. Barn automation simplifies routine farm tasks

A power-washing robot? Power-washing barns between groups of animals is one of the least-liked jobs on a farm, but new automation technology may be taking over the job. I recently visited a farm that had just obtained a power-washing robot and was setting it up for use. Everyone was looking forward to testing the robot out to automate this chore.

In the automation arena, the biggest advancements have been with barn-type alarm sensors like those that monitor the power, fans or feed and water systems. Many farms rely on these sensors to monitor the barn environment remotely.

For swine health, sensors are entering the market that can monitor the temperature or activity levels of pigs. With these tools, producers and veterinarians can identify potential health issues early, before clinical signs become evident.

Takeaway: Automation and technology are revolutionizing every industry, including the pork industry, and offers promise to advance welfare and management practices.

5. Foreign animal diseases on the doorstep

African swine fever (ASF) remains a significant threat to the global swine industry. Even though ASF was found on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) in 2021, North America has maintained an ASF-free status.

In recent years, the U.S. has stepped up efforts to prevent and prepare for a disease outbreak. Federal and state animal health officials, along with industry partners, are working to keep ASF out, either through biosecurity programs, funding animal disease programs and protecting ports of entry, among other efforts.

Plans for how to deal with a potential ASF outbreak will also apply to other foreign animal diseases such as classical swine fever and foot and mouth disease.

The U.S. industry is learning a lot from ASF outbreaks around the world, particularly Vietnam and Germany. Denmark has set up a biosecurity system at the border with Germany to allow pig transport vehicles to cross the border without spreading the ASF virus.

Takeaway: U.S. stakeholders must remain vigilant and adhere to stringent on-farm measures to protect their herds from endemic diseases and threats from foreign animal diseases.