Pork Congress 2012 - Iowa Pork Producers Association
Pork Congress 2012 - Iowa Pork Producers Association
Pork Congress 2012 - Iowa Pork Producers Association
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Facilities<br />
<strong>Producers</strong> were asked in the<br />
questionnaire about the age of<br />
their swine facilities. Twenty-nine<br />
percent said their barns are 11 to<br />
20 years of age. Nearly half of the<br />
facilities are 10 years of age or less<br />
and 24 percent are older than 20<br />
years.<br />
On maintenance and repair issues,<br />
32 percent said they have major<br />
repair needs and 81 percent of<br />
those respondents said they plan to<br />
reinvest in their facilities.<br />
The use of gestation stalls in<br />
farrowing operations was the<br />
subject of a couple of questions.<br />
Of those producers who farrow, 42<br />
percent said they use the stalls and<br />
58 percent said they don’t. When<br />
asked if they plan to use gestation<br />
stalls in the next five years, the<br />
percentages were the same: 42<br />
percent yes and 58 percent no.<br />
Foaming issues in deep pit barns<br />
have become a growing concern<br />
in recent years and IPPA wanted<br />
to find out how widespread the<br />
problem is. Just 32 percent of the<br />
respondents said they have seen<br />
evidence of foaming in pits, but<br />
they have found foaming in 40<br />
percent of their pits.<br />
The survey revealed that producers<br />
have an average of 10.2 months of<br />
on-farm manure storage capacity.<br />
General issues<br />
After a rugged couple of years,<br />
2011 brought a return to<br />
profitability for most producers.<br />
How long will the good times<br />
roll? Can it get better? IPPA asked<br />
producers how they feel about the<br />
immediate future of the industry.<br />
When asked how optimistic they<br />
were about the next two years,<br />
80 percent said they were either<br />
very optimistic or somewhat<br />
optimistic. Just 2.6 percent were<br />
not optimistic and 17.3 percent<br />
were unsure.<br />
Most producers who responded<br />
don’t envision any changes in<br />
their operation in the next five<br />
years. More than 65 percent said<br />
their operation would remain<br />
the same size. Twenty-point-six<br />
percent said they planned to<br />
expand and 2.7 percent said their<br />
business would be smaller.<br />
Of the 2,500 surveys mailed to<br />
<strong>Iowa</strong> pork producers, 18 percent<br />
were returned. The average age<br />
of the respondents was 57 years.<br />
<strong>Producers</strong> also could respond<br />
online. Results from the survey<br />
are used by IPPA to help develop<br />
more effective policies, positions<br />
and programs.<br />
Basic Survey Results<br />
Avg. age of respondents: 57 years<br />
% Owner/operators: 56%<br />
% Contract: 38%<br />
% Off-farm Employment: 21%<br />
% Spouse Off-farm Employment: 55%<br />
Production Type<br />
Avg. # head Finished<br />
2010 2011 2010 2011<br />
Farrow-to-Finish 27% 26% 10,243 9,465<br />
Farrow-to-Feeder 1% 2% 38,088 1,933<br />
Farrow-to-Wean 6% 4% 36,363 36,385<br />
Wean to Finish 37% 55% 8,904 8,907<br />
Seedstock Producer 2% 3% 950 1,324<br />
March <strong>2012</strong><br />
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