“This Little Piggy Went to Market … And This Little Piggy Cried Wee Wee Wee All the Way Home”

Midwest states delivered swing votes for Donald Trump. Today, with the formal end to U.S. participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), America is positioning itself to lose export markets for hog producers. Soon, NAFTA will be scrapped. Here, it is pertinent to note that Mexico is 83% of the U.S. export market for pork products, and Asian nations make up most of the rest.

According to “AgWeb,” here are the top 10 states for pork production (annualized export sales, 2015). All, except Illinois, voted for Trump.  

Iowa - $4.2 billion

Illinois - $1.54 billion

Minnesota - $1.47 billion

North Carolina - $1.46 billion

Indiana - $1.04 billion

Oklahoma - $952.7 million

Missouri - $791 million

Nebraska - $657.5 million

Wisconsin - $605.2 million

Ohio - $542.7 million

Tearing up flawed and imbalanced trade agreements feels good in the moment. However, the hog farmers who voted for Trump were winners in these trade deals. It will be interesting to see how they respond when their little piggies cry wee wee wee all the way home to rural America.