Pork Congress 2012 - Iowa Pork Producers Association

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2011 IPPA Membership Survey Survey says: Iowa pork producers embrace PQA Plus The pork industry’s Pork Quality Assurance Plus was introduced in 2007 and most of Iowa’s pork producers are solidly supporting the program. The results of the 2011 Iowa Pork Producers Association Membership Survey, announced at January’s IPPA Annual Meeting, showed that 95 percent of the 438 people responding to the annual questionnaire are certified in PQA Plus. Iowa currently leads the nation with more than 14,600 individual program certifications. More Iowa pork producers have completed the PQA Plus site assessment than any other state with more than 5,400 assessments done to date, but the membership survey shows that 32 percent of the state’s hog farmers have yet to complete that aspect of the program. Of the 68 percent who said they have had the assessment, 96 percent said it was a positive experience. Producers were asked in the survey if they favored combining PQA Plus and Transport Quality Assurance into a single program and 82 percent said they liked the idea. A total of 55 percent of the respondents are not TQA certified. PQA Plus was launched as a continuous improvement program that outlines good production practices in the areas of food safety and animal well-being. Individuals are first certified through an education program. Following certification, producers invite PQA Plus advisors to conduct an objective assessment of practices on the farm. “PQA Plus certification and the site assessment process helps show customers we care about our animals and the safety of food we produce and aids in continuous improvement of our industry,” IPPA Past President Leon Sheets said in an association news release last year. Feed costs/availability The 2010 survey revealed that feed costs were the chief concern among Iowa producers and it remained the number one headache in the 2011 survey. Disease challenges finished a close second, followed by market prices/access, animal rights activists and energy costs. A big concern of IPPA leadership in late 2010 and early 2011 was whether pork producers would have enough corn at their disposal to feed livestock due to increased competition for corn. Those fears have not materialized to date and 97 percent of the survey respondents said they have had no problems accessing feed grains when asked the question. Sixtyseven percent said they would favor releasing non-sensitive CRP acres for feed grain production. Thirty-three percent said they weren’t in favor of the idea. As a possible indication of the impact of higher feed costs, the 2011 survey found that more corn grown by hog farmers was used for their own feed needs. Around 72 percent of the corn grown by pork producers was used for feed, up 12 percent from 2010. On a related question, 72 percent of the respondents reported using dried distillers grains in their feed rations. Those who use DDGS said 22 percent is used in both gestation and finishing. Marketing One section of the survey asked questions related to marketing. Those responding to the survey said they receive 1.56 bids before selling market hogs and two different processors purchase hogs from them during an average year. Most producers do not have a marketing agreement with a processor or third-party, according to the survey. Fifty-seven percent said they do not have a marketing agreement Of the 43 percent who said they do, there’s 1.73 years left on the agreement and they rate it fairly positively. 14 March 2012
Facilities Producers were asked in the questionnaire about the age of their swine facilities. Twenty-nine percent said their barns are 11 to 20 years of age. Nearly half of the facilities are 10 years of age or less and 24 percent are older than 20 years. On maintenance and repair issues, 32 percent said they have major repair needs and 81 percent of those respondents said they plan to reinvest in their facilities. The use of gestation stalls in farrowing operations was the subject of a couple of questions. Of those producers who farrow, 42 percent said they use the stalls and 58 percent said they don’t. When asked if they plan to use gestation stalls in the next five years, the percentages were the same: 42 percent yes and 58 percent no. Foaming issues in deep pit barns have become a growing concern in recent years and IPPA wanted to find out how widespread the problem is. Just 32 percent of the respondents said they have seen evidence of foaming in pits, but they have found foaming in 40 percent of their pits. The survey revealed that producers have an average of 10.2 months of on-farm manure storage capacity. General issues After a rugged couple of years, 2011 brought a return to profitability for most producers. How long will the good times roll? Can it get better? IPPA asked producers how they feel about the immediate future of the industry. When asked how optimistic they were about the next two years, 80 percent said they were either very optimistic or somewhat optimistic. Just 2.6 percent were not optimistic and 17.3 percent were unsure. Most producers who responded don’t envision any changes in their operation in the next five years. More than 65 percent said their operation would remain the same size. Twenty-point-six percent said they planned to expand and 2.7 percent said their business would be smaller. Of the 2,500 surveys mailed to Iowa pork producers, 18 percent were returned. The average age of the respondents was 57 years. Producers also could respond online. Results from the survey are used by IPPA to help develop more effective policies, positions and programs. Basic Survey Results Avg. age of respondents: 57 years % Owner/operators: 56% % Contract: 38% % Off-farm Employment: 21% % Spouse Off-farm Employment: 55% Production Type Avg. # head Finished 2010 2011 2010 2011 Farrow-to-Finish 27% 26% 10,243 9,465 Farrow-to-Feeder 1% 2% 38,088 1,933 Farrow-to-Wean 6% 4% 36,363 36,385 Wean to Finish 37% 55% 8,904 8,907 Seedstock Producer 2% 3% 950 1,324 March 2012 15
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Page 3 and 4: March Highlights The 2012 Iowa Pork
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