Bacon Shortage Just an Ugly Rumor

Rest easy, bacon lovers — there is no bacon shortage on the horizon. The monthly cold storage report that came at the end of January was perhaps misinterpreted by some in the media resulting in headlines predicting a shortage. USDA Livestock Analyst Shayle Shagam reassures anxious bacon aficionados that isn't the case.

Shagam: "At the time it showed that the stocks of pork bellies — which are the primary component of bacon was at the lowest levels since the series began in the 1950s. The truth is that is a snapshot in time, that is what the stocks were on December 31st."

USDA is actually predicting an increase in pork production. He continues with news of possible declining pork prices.

Shagam: "We would expect to see as increase pork production comes online as increase supplies of pork bellies are available, prices would be declining over time. We don't forecast pork belly prices, but we do assume that the live equivalent of the price of a hog in 2017 is going to be averaging in the high $35 range as a opposed to about $46 in 2016. And as the price of the hog is obviously made up of the various component parts we expect to see price declines in the majority of the cuts that make up the animal."