Lower feed costs continue to result in black ink for hog producers.
Ron Plain, Extension livestock marketing economist at the University of Missouri, says market hogs sold in Iowa in September showed a profit of $8.14 per head, according to data from Iowa State University.
“This was the fourth consecutive profitable month following 10 months of red ink,” he says.
Estimated production costs were down for eight straight months, Plain adds.
There was more good news in August for the U.S. pork industry. Plain says domestic meat demand was up nearly 5 percent in August with domestic pork demand up 6.8 percent.
“August was the sixth consecutive month with domestic pork demand above the year-ago level,” he says, adding it was also the fourth straight month with an increase in pork export demand.
Hog prices were down sharply this past week with cash prices in the Midwest ranging from $56 per hundredweight in Zumbrota, Minn., to $58.50/cwt. for interior Missouri hogs. Those prices were $2 to $3 lower than the previous week.
Hog slaughter continues to run below year-ago levels, Plain says. Slaughter weights in the Iowa-Minnesota market hit record levels this past week at 279.7 pounds, up nearly 8 lbs. from a year ago. “The heavier weights this fall are likely due to a cooler summer, cheaper feed and higher hog prices than a year ago,” Plain says.
Pork cutout values were up once again from the previous week and are running more than $7/cwt. higher than a year ago.
Fed cattle prices moved off the record high prices of the past two weeks, falling closer to $130/cwt. late this past week. That price is still sharply higher than a year ago, Plain says.