Why Hog Farmers Are Winning in 2026

Barn Talk

Tork and Sawyer Whisler

Business

4.9 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2026

⏱️ 98 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome back to Barn Talk! In today’s episode, hosts Tork and Sawyer sit down for another candid, insightful conversation, this time with David Newman, a true leader in the U.S. pork industry and the current CEO of the National Pork Board. From his roots as a fourth-generation pig farmer to guiding national marketing strategies on behalf of 60,000 pork producers, David Newman brings a unique perspective straddling both boots-on-the-ground agriculture and big-picture industry leadership. Together, they dig into the major shifts that pork producers have seen in the last year, from resilient domestic demand and record-setting exports, to the evolving challenges around labor, health, and new opportunities in international markets. Listen in as David Newman shares his personal backstory—growing up on a diversified family farm, weathering years of ups and downs, and the grit it takes to innovate and adapt in modern agriculture. Plus, the trio explores the future of pork: innovations in product cuts, shifting consumer tastes, and how pork’s affordability and versatility are creating the biggest opportunities in decades for producers at every scale. If you've ever wondered what it takes to transition from farm life to high-level leadership, how small-town innovation can change an entire industry, or what the future holds for one of America’s cornerstone proteins, this episode is for you. SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST ➱ https://bit.ly/3a7r3nR SUBSCRIBE TO THIS’LL DO FARM ➱ https://bit.ly/2X8g45c LISTEN ON: SPOTIFY ➱ https://open.spotify.com/show/3icVr4KWq4eUDl7Oy60YMY APPLE ➱ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/barn-talk/id1574395049 Follow Behind The Scenes👇🏻 ● This’ll Do Farm Instagram ➱ https://bit.ly/30KPBNk ● Barn Talk TikTok ➱ https://bit.ly/3qciekS ● Sawyer’s Instagram ➱ https://bit.ly/3BtX0n4 ● Tork’s Instagram ➱ https://bit.ly/3LGZJxS 00:00 "Support and Share Barn Talk" 09:15 "Pork: The Time Is Now" 15:25 "Pork Board's Strategic Success" 16:33 "Boosting Pork Demand Together" 21:47 "Pork Campaign Targets Hispanics" 28:58 "Life in the Hog Business" 33:33 Rise and Shift of Hog Farming 39:47 "Lessons, Tenacity, and Opportunity" 44:08 Agricultural Financing and Risk Management 51:07 Workaholic Leader Shares Leadership Insight 57:16 PRRS: A Growing Swine Challenge 01:04:18 Future of Labor in Food Industry 01:10:34 Global Agriculture Shifts and Pricing 01:13:24 Global Protein Demand and Emerging Markets 01:17:13 Brazil's Pork Export Expansion 01:22:19 Global Pork Industry Insights 01:32:34 "Legacy of Patrick Fleming" 01:34:21 "Busyness, Strategy, and Vision" ------------------------------- ⚠NO FINANCIAL ADVICE / DISCLAIMER⚠ The Information discussed and shared on Barn Talk is provided for educational, informational, and entertainment purposes only, without any express or implied warranty of any kind, including warranties of accuracy, completeness, or success for any particular purpose. The Information contained in or provided from or through this podcast is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, trading advice, or any other advice. The Information on this podcast and provided from or through our content is general in nature and is not specific to you, the user or anyone else. You should not make any decision, financial, investment, trading or otherwise, based on any of the information presented on this podcast without undertaking independent due diligence and consultation with a professional, professional broker or financial advisory. Understand that you are using any and all Information available on or throug... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	All of the food we eat and much of the clothing we wear comes from plants and animals that are raised on
0:04.9	farms. Farms are different in type, in size, and even in name.
0:28.0	Welcome to Barn Talk. What happens at the barn stays in the barn, but not today. We're going to let it all out for you guys.
0:34.7	Today is going to be another great guest episode. Got a great guest coming to Southeast Iowa to have an awesome conversation with us in the barn.
0:38.1	But before we get into it, you guys know the drill. If you get any value from the show, all that we ask is you shared out with the people that you know. The more
0:42.5	that you guys do that, the more that this show grows, the more guests we can have on, the more
0:47.7	episodes we can make. It's kind of the ticket to admission to watch or listen to the show.
0:52.4	We found the best way to grow a podcast is through
0:55.2	word of mouth and through you guys. So, you know, there's a lot of ways you can get value.
0:59.9	If you laughed, if you learn something, if you're related to us on something, just share it.
1:04.3	Another thing you can do to help us out here at Barn Talk is leave a review on Spotify or Apple.
1:09.6	The more you guys do that, the more credible you make our
1:12.9	show, which in turn allows us to have more guests come on the show and have great conversations
1:19.1	with us. And we also just love hearing your guys' overall thoughts on the show and how we can improve
1:24.5	it and what you think about the show in general so we appreciate
1:29.3	all the reviews that come in on those platforms uh last thing you can do is if you like watching
1:35.4	the podcast you can always subscribe to our youtube channel uh barn talk where we put out video
1:40.9	episodes and clips and all kinds of stuff. So we really appreciate all
1:45.0	your guys of support and I'm excited to get into this one. How are you doing today, Kingpin?
1:50.2	I'm good. Today, it's a good thing that we're doing this today. Our guest is venturing down
1:57.2	from Port Congress in Des Moines because that's going on.
2:04.6	And I'm not there, but we're here.
	...

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