Using Farm-Level Data to Improve Marketing and Planning: An Illustration with Live Hogs

Actual live hog sales data from the Swine Center at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale are used to examine marketing practices and develop a forecasting and budgeting tool. The data show that carcassbased hog sales receive a price premium of $4.35 per live hundredweight. Likewise, hogs marketed at the optimal live weight, 244 pounds, receive a $0.26 per hundredweight premium. The data are also used to develop a futures-based hedging and forecasting model. Price forecasts are used to generate revenue estimates to assist with business planning. The results demonstrate a number of ways producers and agribusinesses can use sales data to improve their marketing and business planning.