Porktober - National Pork Month

October is well-known for fall colors, pumpkins, and all things spooky! But many farmers consider October to be a month filled with something else entirely: pork! October is National Pork Month, the time of year when hogs are traditionally marketed. In honor of ‘Porktober’ and hog farmers everywhere, here’s a few fun pork facts.

Iowa is America’s largest pork producing state with over 5,400 pig farms! In 2018 alone, Iowa marketed around 48 million hogs and America produces an average of 115 million hogs. This means Iowa accounts for over 30% of the United State’s hog production.

Pork is the most consumed animal meat in the world with roughly 109.905 million metric tons of pork consumed! China leads the world’s largest pork consumer with the average citizen consuming 88.1 pounds per year. American’s eat an average of 52.1 pounds per year.

The average hog weighs 282 pounds at market but the world’s heaviest hog, “Big Bill” weighed 2,552 pounds in 1933. Big Bill, a Poland China hog breed, was from Jackson, Tennessee. The average market pig is around 371 servings of pork - imagine the servings from Big Bill alone!

To celebrate National Pork Month, we invite you to thank your local pig farmers and cook up a delicious meal of ham, sausage, bacon, or any other pork-filled dish! Here is a link for tasty pork recipes to help celebrate Porktober!

https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/30-pork-recipes-ready-in-30-minutes/