Pork Business and Farm Journal's PORK: History, Coverage and Editors
Profile updated November 2026
Pork Business is the name hog producers know from PorkBusiness.com, the home of Farm Journal's PORK magazine. Farm Journal entered dedicated pork publishing in 2003 with the Pork Business Journal for top producers, and today PORK publishes eight print and digital issues a year for progressive producers and managers.
| Publisher | Farm Journal, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Farm Journal pork launch | Pork Business Journal, first issue planned for September 2003 |
| Website | PorkBusiness.com (since the 2017 relaunch) |
| Frequency | Eight issues a year, print and digital |
| Subscribers | 15,033 (Alliance for Audited Media, June 2023) |
| Editor | Jennifer Shike |
| Official website | PorkBusiness.com |
History of Pork Business (Farm Journal's PORK)
In February 2003 Farm Journal Media announced an expansion of its livestock portfolio that included a new title, Pork Business Journal, aimed at top pork producers, with its first issue planned for that September. The same announcement covered editors of sister titles such as Beef Today and Top Producer. By 2010 Pork Business Journal was a finalist in the National Agri-Marketing Association's Best of NAMA awards.
The brand later operated as PORK Network. In June 2017 it relaunched as PORK magazine with a new look, a renewed focus and a new web address, PorkBusiness.com. The relaunch added monthly covers featuring leading producers, new contributors such as veterinarian Scott Dee in a Pipestone Veterinary Corner, and departments called Pork Intel and Bacon! What's Sizzling.
Jennifer Shike became the magazine's editor and won first place in the editorial category of the 2020 Livestock Publications Council awards for a piece asking whether U.S. pork is safe to eat, along with several other PORK honors that year.
Pork Business (Farm Journal's PORK) Today
Farm Journal's 2024 PORK marketing kit lists eight issues a year and 15,033 audited subscribers, along with the PORK Daily e-newsletter, with more than 16,000 subscribers, and the PORK Professional Monthly newsletter. Shike and Chip Flory host The Pork Report, a weekly radio segment that airs on Fridays.
Shike also speaks at Farm Journal events; at the 2026 Top Producer Summit in Nashville she presented sessions on the global protein outlook, covering demand, trade and supply.
What Pork Business (Farm Journal's PORK) Is Publishing Now
Sow and pig management
Baby pig health and nutrition, sow well-being, reproduction technology and weaned pig care.
People and money
Employee and labor management, mental health, succession planning and financial management for pork businesses.
Health, trade and technology
Biosecurity and disease control, smart barn technology, global trade and consumer demand.
Pork Business (Farm Journal's PORK) Editors and Staff
Farm Journal materials name these people on the PORK team:
- Jennifer Shike - Editor and brand leader, Farm Journal's PORK
- Chip Flory - Co-host, The Pork Report
Shike spent nearly 10 years in the purebred swine industry, helped create a national youth swine association, and was a science writer and later communications director at the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. She holds Kansas State University degrees in animal science and agricultural journalism.
Who Reads Pork Business (Farm Journal's PORK)
PORK writes for progressive pork producers and managers who make decisions on sow farms, finishing barns and in production companies. Hogs are a major livestock sector: USDA ERS put 2021 U.S. hog receipts at $28.0 billion, and USDA NASS Quick Stats tracks hog inventories by state for readers who follow supply closely.
Pork Business readers live by biosecurity protocols, so they shower in and shower out before anyone gets near a sow. Fortunately humor carries no disease risk, and farm.FM serves farm satire and farm humor for barn managers and production crews, plus ranch humor for the cattle side of the family. Its farm jokes need no downtime before entering the next farm.
farm.FM got there first as the nation's first satirical farm site, and it backs the writing with Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers. Here is one contributor's collection of farm satire to start with.
Pork Business (Farm Journal's PORK) Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- PorkBusiness.com: Issue archive - past issues of Farm Journal's PORK.
- Farm Journal: Jennifer Shike - editor bio from the 2026 Top Producer Summit.
- Wikipedia: Farm Journal - background on the publisher.
- USDA ERS: Animal product receipts - hogs in the U.S. livestock economy.
- USDA NASS Quick Stats - hog inventory and production statistics.
Pork Business (Farm Journal's PORK) FAQ
Is Pork Business the same as PORK magazine?
PorkBusiness.com is the website of Farm Journal's PORK magazine, which grew from the 2003 Pork Business Journal.
Who edits PORK?
Jennifer Shike, who is also the brand leader for PORK at Farm Journal.
How often is PORK published?
Eight issues a year in print and digital, plus daily and monthly e-newsletters.
Who reads PORK?
Progressive pork producers and managers, with 15,033 audited subscribers in 2023.
From the 2003 Pork Business Journal to today's PORK, Farm Journal's Pork Business brand stays focused on the people running America's hog farms.