Hog market reporting is nimble, confidential and useful

Beginning Jan. 5, 2026, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service made administrative changes to the National Weekly Direct Swine Non-Carcass Merit Premium (LM_HG250) report. The terminology “non-carcass merit premium” means an increase in the base price of the swine offered by an individual packer or packing plant, based on any factor other than the characteristics of the carcass, if the actual amount of the premium is known before the sale and delivery of the swine.

AMS has specific administrative authority to manage and adjust certain aspects of Livestock Mandatory Reporting. That’s a good thing. Enhancing reports and published data is important for reflecting the dynamics of the industry and the value of market information. AMS does not make changes on a whim. They evaluate how data looks before and after a change. AMS tries to make sure that changes have longevity and follow-up adjustments will not be needed soon thereafter.

The law requires AMS to keep LMR information confidential to protect the identity of packers, contracts and proprietary business information. Confidentiality is at the forefront of any changes to how AMS publishes data. AMS doing the necessary due diligence may delay implementing changes to reports but ensures the overall integrity and relevancy of market information. Major changes to LMR require an act of congress and legislative change to the LMR Act of 1999 which typically occurs during reauthorization of LMR.

The latest administrative changes to the LM_HG250 report are two-fold. First, going forward sow housing premium data is removed from the “other” category and reported as a separate line item. Second, due to insufficient beta agonist free premium data to pass confidentiality requirements, this information is no longer published separately but included in the “other” category.

Packers offer premiums for many attributes

Categories in the LM_HG250 report now include premiums for volume, transportation, delivery time, breed, Pork Quality Assurance, animal confinement legislation, sow housing and other. The catch-all other category is for premiums that do not fit the named categories and is defined by AMS to include: “animal welfare, antibiotic free, diet/feed, genetics, meat quality, beta agonist free, and process verified program.” Premiums that are tied to a bundle of attributes are published in the other category even if part of the bundle has a single standalone category in the report.