U.S. Pork Exports Upward Trend Continues in 2020

U.S. pork muscle cut export volume was up 9% to 2.176 million metric tons (MT) in 2019 compared with 2018 (see Figure 1). 2019 U.S. pork muscle cut exports were boosted by large shipments to China despite high retaliatory tariffs on U.S. pork. China's drastic swine herd reduction due to the African Swine Fever (ASF) has caused lower Chinese pork production and considerably higher domestic pork prices.

COVID-19 Update from DIS

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting essentially all areas of our personal and professional lives. “Social distancing”, a term never heard in all my (increasing!) years, may end up being the “phrase of the year” before this challenge is put in the rear view.

Pet Food Production and Ingredients Analysis

As a general rule, pets are considered “family” in the United States. More than 100 million U.S. families have a pet at home. For the one-year time period, June 2018 to May 2019, pet owners spent more than $30 billion on 9.8 million tons of pet food products.

Rachel’s Internship Wrap-Up

As I reflect back on my time at Decision Innovation Solutions, I feel so grateful for my experience! I could not have asked for a more perfect internship during college.

Catching Up on Aquaculture II

As promised in my last blog I will be writing a few blogs about Aquaculture in the U.S. as I continue my research for one of our market analytics projects. The last blog provided an overview of changes in U.S. Aquaculture over the five-year period between the 2013 USDA Census of Aquaculture and the 2018 USDA Census of Aquaculture. This focus of this blog and others will be on individual species of seafood raised in the U.S.

Holly’s Internship with DIS so Far…

It is hard to believe that I have been a member of the DIS team for nearly four months now! A lot has changed since the beginning of the spring semester when I started my internship, but I am grateful to be able to continue my work and research remotely for the time being.

DIS Continues to Innovate Despite COVID-19

Greetings! Thankfully, the restrictions that have come with the COVID-19 challenge are beginning to thaw, at least here in Iowa. And…thanks to an exceptional team and great clients the steady drumbeat of projects continues here at DIS.

A Glimpse of Iowa’s Honeybee Industry

One honeybee only makes 1/12 a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime, but the honeybees' products and service as a pollinator are all but minuscule. Honeybees are responsible for pollinating over 90 commercial U.S. crops including almonds.