This is SERIOUS! Nation's bacon reserves hit half-century low

[Dockem]

The country's bacon reserves are at the lowest levels in half a century.
In other words, pig farmers can't keep up with the world's sizzling appetite for those fatty, smoky strips of sheer eating pleasure.

The Ohio Pork Council, a Columbus-based non-profit, reported Tuesday that demand for frozen pork belly, frequently made into bacon, is outpacing supply.

“Today’s pig farmers are setting historic records by producing more pigs than ever,” said Rich Deaton, president of the organization. “Yet our reserves are still depleting.”

There are literally not enough little piggies going to market.

In December 2016, frozen pork belly inventory totaled 17.8 million pounds, the lowest level since 1957, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

As a result, prices are on the rise. The council reports pork belly prices have increased 20 percent in January. Officials said increased foreign demand might account for the decline in inventory. Hog farmers export approximately 26 percent of total productions, the council said.

“While bacon may become more expensive for consumers, rest assured pork industry will not run out of supply,” said Deaton.

[Zammy]

That was on our local news tonight also, we've noticed the prices have kept climbing lately.

[mhgoldwing]

Start hunting the feral hogs. More than enough to feed the masses.

[rhino 2]

Shot a wild pig once [66] Had to rush the cooking process ' Yep Trichinosis......I was young and strong then, So What doesn't kill you makes you stronger...
That is unless it does kill you , Then all bets are off...

[desertclassic]

Start hunting the feral hogs. More than enough to fee the masses.

My brother in law in WV is feeding 5 feral hogs that showed up at his place. They were piglets but now weight around 150 each. He says spring time and those little guys are going to the butcher. Jim

[kybigmac]

OMG why are they exporting so much, we must keep it for ourselves. If we run out of bacon it will be a national emergency! Bacon eaters unite!

[Fowler]

The best Bacon I have ever eaten was in Washington State right off I 5
Was headed to Chehalis from Portland OR

[Sully]

Someone say a Shortage of Bacon

[rhino 2]

I don't know why people are worried about a shortage of bacon ? Thats fake news, The real shortage is in wood pulp ...Specifically hemlock trees in the Northeast forest regions..
****************************************
Georgia Pacific and St.Regis paper, Both Announced in a joint statement last week ' That because of the unusually warm weather that the northeast forest regions has been experiencing over the previous two winters.That the production of wood pulp is down by 65 to 75 percent, And as wood pulp is the main ingredient in Toilet paper, They the manufacture's expect a severe backup of toilet paper deliveries into the foreseeable future...
Word to the wise ; Stock up now...

[Marc H]

Doesn't surprise me.The corporate owned farms have been running the small guys out of business for 30 yrs.

[Dockem]

Bacon fans need not worry: There's no shortage

Posted Feb 2, 2017 at 11:37 AM Updated Feb 2, 2017 at 2:09 PM
By JD Malone
The Columbus Dispatch

The Ohio Pork Council caused many an American to clutch their hearts this week.
Not from the gluttonous consumption of pork belly, the hog cut from which bacon is derived, but from the possible lack thereof.
The trade group fired off a press release Monday with the headline, "Ohio Pork Council warns of potentially declining U.S. bacon supply." It even set up a website, www.baconshortage.com.

A few media outlets ran with the story, knowing it to be a sure sign of the coming apocalypse. Not the New York Times, though, which dubbed the idea of impending bacon rationing "fake news."

"It has been very interesting the last 48 hours," said Russell Barton, pork market reporter for Urner Barry, a meat industry analyst. "Not just the nation, but the world is trying to decide if it is real or fake news.

"There is not going to be a shortage of bacon. There is not going to be any rationing or anything close to that."
Whew.
Ohio Pork Council President Rich Deaton admitted to the New York Times that the press release was something of a marketing ploy, and he pointed to a line near the end in which he stated, "rest assured the pork industry will not run out of supply."

After all of the hubbub, the pork council released a statement poo-pooing alarmist stories.
"Media reports have inaccurately implied that our organization was suggesting that there is actually a shortage of bacon."
The pork council's pitch hinged on some facts. Frozen pork belly reserves stood at 17.7 million pounds in December, the lowest amount at the end of a year ever, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The cold-storage stocks were down 67 percent year-over-year. The news in the December report represented the first time that frozen pork-belly reserves dipped from November to December.

While the nation is not likely to run out of bacon, lower frozen stocks could spell higher prices as demand peaks in the summer, Barton said. "Cold storage keeps prices in a reasonable range," Barton said. "You may see higher prices."

Bacon prices remain stubbornly high compared to overall pork prices. A pound of bacon in December was $5.10, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it has been above $5 for almost four years, even as pork overall has eased off of record-high prices from a few years ago.

Bacon is 47 percent more expensive than it was 10 years ago, while bone-in pork chops are just 15 percent more expensive.
The stickiness of bacon's price tag is because, well, "it's because it's bacon," Barton said.
The one-time breakfast-only staple has transitioned into a year-round, slap-it-on-everything wonder meat.
A shortage of bacon would be terrible for a company like Wendy's, given that its menu contains a sandwich called the Baconator. Its fans have not reason to fear, though. Wendy's uses fresh pork belly for its bacon, and the company doesn't foresee any supply issues this year.

"We don't see an impact from this issue affecting us," said Wendy's spokeswoman Heidi Schauer.
At least some breakfast staples are cheap and plentiful. Eggs, at $1.38 a dozen in December are half the price they were a year ago and as cheap, or cheaper, than 10 years ago.

Alas, there are no Eggonator sandwiches, which, on second thought, is probably for the best.

The World is safe again!