Cash Feeder Pig Prices Average $30.75, Down $5.21 Last Week

Aug 07, 2023

This market update is a PorkBusiness.com weekly column reporting trends in weaner pigs. All information contained in this update is for the week ended Aug. 4.

NutriQuest Business Solutions publishes weekly weaner pig profitability calculations which uses industry representative production costs and futures pricing for lean hogs, corn and soybean meal, using historical basis assumptions, to establish approximate profitability and break-even pricing for the current sale or purchase of weaner pigs. Prices are based on closing futures prices on Aug. 4 and assumes CME Lean Hog Index cost and historical basis assumptions.

When you consider that today’s purchased weaner would be sold in February 2024 using February 2024 futures, the weaner breakeven was $36.67, up $6.29 for the week. Feed costs were down $3.98 per head, and February futures decreased $1.68 compared to last week’s futures, while historical basis is improved from last week by $2.78 per cwt.

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Video: Assessing Welfare Resources During Late Finish - Dr. Anna Johnson & Emma Coursey

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Anna Johnson from Iowa State University and Emma Coursey from the University of Illinois discuss research evaluating welfare resources during the late finishing stage on commercial swine farms. They explain how feeder management, water use, space allocation, and pig health influence welfare outcomes and practical on-farm management. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Small resource issues can become larger welfare problems when multiple stressors interact across finishing barns."

Meet the guests: Dr. Anna Johnson / anna-johnson-05028a14 is the Morrill Professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare at Iowa State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from Texas Tech University and completed her master's degree in Applied Animal Behaviour and Welfare at the University of Edinburgh. Her research focuses on practical solutions that improve farm animal welfare, including sow productive lifetime, animal-human interaction, environmental enrichment, and Precision Livestock Farming.

Emma Coursey / emma-coursey-183810241 is pursuing a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine after earning a bachelor's degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University. Her academic interests include swine health, production, and animal welfare, with research experience evaluating welfare resources in commercial finishing pigs.