South Dakota now ranks among the top ten hog producers in the nation.
June numbers from the Hogs and Pigs Report put out by the US Department of Agriculture shows South Dakota has over 190-thousand sows. Dr. Bob Thaler (TALLER) is the SDSU Extension Swine Specialist. He says the reason South Dakota is on the way up . . . is cost.
“Some of the reasons why South Dakota is so attractive for livestock production is the cost of our grain. 75% of the cost of producing a pig is feed cost, and if you just look at the difference between Sioux Center Iowa and Mitchell South Dakota, corn’s going to be 30 cents cheaper in Mitchell. And suddenly that has a huge impact on cost on the production of livestock,” says Thaler.
Thaler says sow numbers will continue to increase as long as feed prices remain competitive in South Dakota. Officials also say surrounding states such as Iowa have seen decreasing hog numbers.