With the release of its 2026 Hog Outlook, Farm Credit Canada is forecasting a profitable year for the pork sector, similar to 2025.

Justin Shepherd, a Senior Economist with Farm Credit Canada, says 2025 ended up being a pretty good year for the hog industry in Canada and North America due to lower feed costs and strong pricing fueled by strong demand for meat and higher costs for substitute proteins, whether it be beef or chicken, making pork rather appealing for the consumer and we would expect 2026 to be similar to last year.

We’re continuing to see a large grain and oilseed supply in the world so that’s going to keep a lid on pricing for the most part for feed grains so that’s helpful on the feeding side. When we look at the pricing, we continue to see strong hog futures and a lot of that is supported by strong beef prices on a small beef herd in North America and ultimately at the grocery store we continue to see pork be an affordable option for consumers.

One of the main factors that we’re tracking right now is disease spread and that’s going to play a key part in how producers fair this year. There’s strong margin opportunities provided they have good biosecurity and they have a little bit of luck in keeping disease out of their barn. These diseases are limiting. Right now, in Ontario, for example, PED is creating some real issues. January was their highest outbreak month since they started recording the data over a decade ago. We’re seeing outbreaks both in the United States and Canada so that’s containing or constraining supplies of finished hogs that are able to go to market so it’s really disease holding back supplies and then creating good pricing opportunities for those producers who are able to produce.

~ Justin Shepherd, Farm Credit Canada

Shepherd says the market is favorable right now with there are some good margin opportunities for pork producers so there is a positive vibe and he’s confident we’ll have a strong 2026 following up on last year.

To access the Farm Credit Canada 2026 Hog Outlook, visit fcc-fac.ca.