With the April live hog futures contract at $99.67/cwt and the June contract at $103/cwt, USDA released a bullish quarterly hogs and pigs report today with most all categories coming in below pre-report expectations. Total inventory was 74.8 million head, at 98 percent of 1 March 2020 and 97 percent of 1 December 2020.
Today’s report was down across the board from last year’s pre-pandemic report, which set records for total inventory, market hogs, December-to-February pig crop, and pigs saved per litter.
The number of sows kept for breeding matched the March report level from 2018, the lowest in four years.
Of note on the beef side, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced his 50/14 cash marketing plan for the...
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