The fourth quarter of 1998 was one that Iowa pork producers would prefer to forget. From favorable farm prices in the $50 per hundredweight range just in the past year, prices fell below $30 per hundredweight in the beginning of September, slid below $20 per hundredweight by the middle of October, and declined even further, to below $15 per hundredweight in December. This left many asking why and wondering whether low hog prices are here to stay. Let’s look at how demand and supply factors affected the industry throughout 1998. Are the resulting impacts transient or permanent?