Gilt and sow slaughter data indicate producers are not changing the breeding herd much, if any, in either direction.

The percentage of gilts in the barrow and gilt slaughter since March 1 has been 0.1 percent larger than a year earlier.

Sow slaughter during this period has been up 1.4 percent after adjusting for the size of the breeding herd.

Barrow and gilt weights in Iowa-Minnesota for the week ending May 19 at 265.5 pounds were down 0.4 pound from a week earlier and down 2.6 pounds from a year earlier. Weights of barrows and gilts for the four weeks ending May 19 at 266.65 pounds were down 2.08 pounds from a year earlier.

Cash feeder pig prices at United Tel-o-auction this week were $5-10 per cwt. below two weeks ago. Prices by weight groups this week at United were: 50-60 pounds $102-116 per cwt. and 60-70 pounds $77 per cwt. Feeder pig prices are expected to decline seasonally for the next several weeks.

Cash hog prices this Friday morning were steady to $2.25 per cwt. higher compared to a week earlier. The weighted average negotiated base carcass price Friday morning was $0.26 per cwt. higher to $1.01 per cwt. lower compared to seven days earlier.

The live prices for barrows and gilts Friday morning for select markets were: Peoria $48 per cwt., St. Paul $51 per cwt. and interior Missouri $52.75 per cwt. The weighted average carcass prices for negotiated base prices by area Friday morning were: western Corn Belt $71.86 per cwt., eastern Corn Belt $71.83 per cwt., Iowa-Minnesota $71.44 per cwt. and nation $70.59 per cwt.
Carcass cutout Thursday afternoon was down $1.61 per cwt. from a week earlier at $76.13 per cwt. Loins at $96.73 per cwt. Thursday were down $1.13 per cwt., Boston butts were down $3.95 per cwt. at $72.71 per cwt., hams at $54.65 per cwt. were down 68 cents per cwt., and bellies were down 20 cents per cwt. from seven days earlier Thursday afternoon at $111.13 per cwt.

Slaughter this week under Federal Inspection was estimated at 1.98 million head, up 2.8 percent from a week earlier.
Slaughter through June 2006 ran from 1.821 to 1.897 million head per week. Some trade sources expect slaughter this June to run about 1.9 million head per week.

If so, the price of hogs is probably near the seasonal high.

Cold storage stocks of pork at the end of April were up 0.4 percent from a year earlier and up 5.4 percent from a month earlier.
Belly stocks were up 12 percent from a month earlier but down one percent from a year earlier.

Beef storage stocks were down 6.3 percent from a year earlier and down 3.3 percent from a month earlier on April 30.

The good news as to meat storage stocks is chicken, which was down 28 percent from a year earlier on April 30.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World.
Readers with questions or comments for Glen Grimes or Ron Plain may write to them in care of this publication.

This farm news was published in the June 2, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.