Quarterly Hogs And Pigs Coming

With the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report coming this week, it pays to pay attention to the competition.

Sow slaughter through mid-March was tracking slightly more than the same period a year ago, said the Livestock Marketing Information Center in a letter to Extension agents.  Year-to-date, weekly sow slaughter was more than 544,000 head, up 0.2% from the same period last year.

On average, weekly sow slaughter has been a little more than 60,000 head per week to start 2023, marginally more than 2022, the LMIC said.  Given that sow slaughter has been tracking similarly to a year ago, hogs kept for breeding in the upcoming March 1 Hogs and Pigs report were expected to be similar to 2022, which was a little less than 6.1 million head.

The December-February farrowing intentions from the Dec. 1 report were at 2.947 million head, up 28,000 or almost 1.0% from a year earlier, the LMIC said.  Farrowing may be similar to a year ago given sow slaughter is tracking close to 2022, which would be a signal that production levels may see only marginal changes from last year during the second half of 2023.

 

SOW PRICES FOLLOW 2022 PATTERN

 

Sow prices (national negotiated 450- to 499-pound weighted average) have started to follow a similar pattern to last year, which had a peak value of $98.15 per cwt in mid-April, the LMIC said.  In late June last year, prices reached a trough in the $40-per-cwt area but had a second increase that peaked in early August in the $80-per-cwt range.

At the start of 2023, sow prices hovered in the low $40 per cwt range and by late March had reached into the $60 per cwt area. Last week, the sow price was $68.19 per cwt, which is below a year ago but following a similar pattern that occurred in 2022.

 

FEEDER PIG PRICES STRUGGLE

 

Feeder pig prices have struggled to gain traction, the LMIC said.  Early weaned (10 to 12 pounds) prices started the year in the low $60-per-head range and have fallen almost every week since mid-January.

Last week, early weaned feeder pig prices were $42.84 a head, down more than $22 from the same week a year ago, the LMIC said.  Prices for 40-pound feeder pigs increased the first few weeks of the year to $96.36 a head but then quickly retreated to the mid- $80-per-head area.

Last week, 40-pound feeder pigs were $85.89 a head, well below the $119.89 at this time last year, the LMIC said.

Seasonally, feeder pig prices move lower during the summer months then increase during the fourth quarter of the year, the LMIC said.

 

CATTLE, BEEF RECAP

 

The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $163.20 to $165.29 per cwt, compared with last week’s range of $164.03 to $165.84.  FOB dressed steers, and heifers went for $257.16 to $260.18 per cwt, versus $257.00 to $262.24.

The USDA choice cutout Tuesday was up $0.27 per cwt at $280.63 while select was up $0.64 at $270.36.  The choice/select spread narrowed to $10.27 from $10.64 with 82 loads of fabricated product and 21 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.

The USDA said basis bids for corn from feeders in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $1.60 to $1.70 a bushel over the May corn contract.  Bids in Kansas were steady at $0.75 over May, which settled at $6.47 1/4 a bushel, down $0.01.

The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Monday was $191.34 per cwt, up $0.10.  This compares with Tuesday’s Mar contract settlement of $191.72 per cwt, down $0.62 and Apr’s $197.22, down $0.40.