The U.S. pork sector has been experiencing low demand, and exports have been unable to take up the extra supply. Weights should be coming down and inventory numbers falling at this time of year, but neither is occurring. What does this mean for U.S. hog producers? How important is it to lock in prices? Will waiting to lock in result in big losses this fall?

David E. Williams, director of global protein for Informa Agribusiness Consulting, will provide his views on the current state of the industry during a special presentation Thursday, June 7, at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa.

The presentation, titled “U.S. Pork Supply & Demand: How Do We Go Forward in the Ever-Expanding Global Marketplace,” will be at 9:30-10:00 a.m. in the Jacobson Exhibition Center Conference Room.

The presentation will be simultaneously live streamed on the Feedstuffs Facebook page.

Williams is a vice president of Informa Agribusiness Consulting as well as director of the Agribusiness Intelligence Protein Group. In this capacity, he directs the global activities of the protein channel and coordinates insight and intelligence with respect to the global analytic protein groups within the Agribusiness Intelligence vertical.

Based out of Austin, Texas, Williams’ primary responsibilities include working with Informa customers on understanding the global meat supply, meat-based project consulting as well as client services. He also works with customers on livestock hedging and trading models.

Williams came to Informa from Cargill, where he worked in many different roles over 16 years, including as leader of export sales for the meat business unit, leader of futures trading for the meat business unit and general manager of the Cargill grain export business in Texas and Oklahoma. He received his bachelor's degree in animal science from Texas Tech University and his master's degree in business administration from Friends University.