The manure generated by swine facilities has become a valuable resource to south-central Minnesota crop producers. Fertilizer costs for corn production in 2009 are expected to be $250-300/acre. A crop producer with some well-managed hog finishing facilities to provide liquid swine manure for fertilizer can provide a large percentage of the annual fertilizer needs for crop production. The availability of high-quality swine manure has become an important part of crop economics in the region. This is why there are still a large amount of crop producers willing to invest in swine finishing facilities on their farms. Most of the liquid swine manure is injected into the soil in the fall or early spring, in order to take full advantage of the crop nutrients. This method of application is very environmentally friendly and poses very minimal risk of nutrient runoff into rivers and streams, especially on the heavier soils that exist in most parts of the region.

The area swine industry has faced some economic and low profitability challenges in the past year, primarily resulting from skyrocketing feed costs and other input costs. Corn prices above $6/bu. and soybean prices above $13/bu. earlier this summer caused feed costs for hog producers to double compared to a year ago. The cost of fuel, transportation and most other inputs has also risen dramatically in the past year. The result has been significant financial losses for many swine producers during the first half of 2008. More recently, some improved hog market prices, and a slight easing of feed costs, have helped to somewhat improve the profit margins in hog production. Longer-term challenges for swine producers include concerns over corn supply as a result of the increasing corn usage for ethanol production, increasing environmental regulations that add more production costs, U.S. export policies and the lack of public support for the swine industry.

Summary
The swine industry in south-central Minnesota is alive and well, and it will likely be that way for a long time to come. Even though pork producers are facing some current economic challenges, as well as some long-term issues, the primary players in the swine industry have shown a strong resilience to overcome the economic challenges and industry issues that have existed in the past. There is no reason to suspect that things will be any different now or in the future, and the pork industry is likely to continue to be a major economic factor in south-central Minnesota.

Editor’s note: Kent Thiesse is a former University of Minnesota Extension educator and now is Vice President of MinnStar Bank, Lake Crystal, MN. You can contact him at 507-726-2137 or via e-mail at kent.thiesse@minnstarbank.com.