Hog slaughter finished last week at an estimated 2.45 million head, up half a percent from year ago levels. The slaughter is forecast to trend higher over the next six weeks, projected at 2.5 million head this week and to 2.4 million head per week, through the week ending July 25th. The upswing through July is expected to drive the next six weeks to an average of 3 percent over 2019 levels, a sign that production issues have normalized. The increased…