Pig farmers in Iowa and around the United States are entering a “scary period” because trade tensions are threatening export growth just as domestic production is surging, according to an Iowa State University (ISU) economist.

“Everything looked good a year ago, and hog producers have expanded herds because exports were driving profits,” said Dermot Hayes, an ISU agricultural economics professor during a panel discussion on Iowa’s hog industry at ISU’s annual Soil Management Land Valuation Conference in Ames. “But the future of export markets doesn’t look as clear now with us at the top end of a production cycle. We could...