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Farmers Union leader says pork margins remain tight

The President and CEO of Farmers Union Industries says 2022 has been a tough year for their pork processing operation.

Dale Bednarek tells Brownfield their Redwood Farms Meat Processing division in Estherville, Iowa has been challenged over the past year because of current market conditions. “The price of hogs is going high and the price of meat stays steady or goes down. That puts a damper on our margins overall.”

Bednarek tells Brownfield it’s not just the hog prices and consumer prices impacting their margins. “You know, there’s a steady competition for where we’re located, you know, to compete in the market of wages, insurance, and utility costs. It is a challenge to stay into the black, I’ll be honest with you.”

Bednarek says it’s an everyday challenge they accept and deal with every day, so he’s focused on lowering the cost of production so they can process more animals.