The Canadian hog industry has faced many challenges in recent years. The trends that continue to unfold will surely affect the supply of pigs, market hogs and pork that cross the U.S. border over the next year or so. As we take a closer look at pricing, margins and developments in the Canadian market, unfortunately, one of the biggest developments that must be addressed is mandatory country-of-origin labeling (COOL). Looking ahead, it can be expected
that Canadian hog inventories will continue to decline through 2009, although at a slower pace. Based on grain and hog price forecasts, Canadian hog producers might be in the black this spring and summer, but not by much. Margins will dip back into the red in the fall.