This document provides information about bacon production in Iowa, including: 1) Iowa is a top pork producing state, with over 20 million hogs as of 2014, more than 6 times the state's human population. 2) The number of hogs in Iowa has increased dramatically since the 1850s, from around 300,000 to over 20 million currently. 3) Traditional bacon was cured using recipes from the 18th-19th centuries, and was produced using techniques like brine injection and smokehousing. Modern processors still provide custom bacon production for local markets.