Limited trade was reported for the start of the week. Participants called the market quiet for Monday.

For the week ending December 16, 2023, hog slaughter is forecast at 2.650 million head, 2.7 percent up from 2022 and in-line with last week. Over the next six weeks, hog slaughter is projected to average 2.425 million head per week, 3.0 percent and 3.3 percent higher from 2022 and 2021 levels, respectively.

Based on the Estimated Weekly Meat Production from the USDA hog slaughter for week ending December 9 was at 2.687 million head, down 0.3 percent from the respective week in 2022. Year-to-date hog slaughter is currently at 120.020 million head, 1.6 percent above 2022 for the same time. Production levels, 2023 year-to-date, are at 25.581 million pounds, up 0.5 percent from 2022.

Fig. 1

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