Analysts share pork predictions for 2007.

[DehydratedPorkMan]

While analysts have described the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Hogs and Pigs Report as a bit of a yawner, the picture changes when you dig a little deeper.

“The period 2005-2006 was very profitable for pork producers,” says Ron Plain, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri. “However, history says we need to pile on some red ink before we cut back on farrowings.”

USDA’s numbers were close to pre-report expectations. The report pegged the U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on Dec. 1, 2006, at 62.1 million head, up 1 percent from the previous year but down 1 percent from Sept. 1, 2006. The breeding inventory, at 6.09 million head, was up 1 percent from last year and up slightly from the previous quarter.

In addition, U.S. hog producers intend to have 2.9 million sows farrow during the December 2006 to February 2007 quarter, up 2 percent from the actual farrowings during the same period in both 2006 and 2005.

But what about the question that’s on everyone’s mind—how much will rising corn prices impact pork producers in 2007?