Though the latest hogs and pigs report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) showed that the pork industry has largely recovered from the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), there are still threats to the industry, Chris Hurt, professor of ag economics at Purdue University said last week.

“There seem to be growing threats in the future for the meats sector,” Hurt said. “Those include continued expansion of total meat supplies into 2016 and 2017 with rapid expansion of poultry and increased beef supplies.”

He said the large drop in finished cattle prices in recent weeks suggest retail beef prices could begin to drop this fall and provide added competition for pork. In the longer run, beef supplies will continue to expand for...