Trading was mostly quiet to close out the week. The exception was ruminant meat and bone meal out of the Dallas/Houston market at $175 – 195 FOB. Through Thursday hog slaughter was up 35% compared to the week prior. While last week was a holiday week, the big jump is evidence of things returning to a more normal schedule for the pork processors. Porcine meat and bone meal FOB Missouri River closed out the month of March at a relative price of 120 percent to nearby soybean meal. Through the first week of June the relative price to soybean meal is 88 percent or just two points over the prior three-year average. There is risk for additional weakness in the market due to increased production but values at these levels should start to attract more interest from the buy side.

Figure…