Trading was limited today with most participants monitoring soybean meal changes after the most recent WASDE report. Most contacts were also assessing possible price changes with the most recent plant fire in Grand Island, NE, lowering cattle slaughter around 6,000 head a day. 

For the week ending September 18^th, 2021, hog slaughter is forecast at 2.50 million head. This would be a 3.2 percent drop from 2020, a 3.9 percent decline from 2019, but a 9.9 percent increase from the prior week due to the Labor Day holiday. According to the USDA Actual Slaughter Under Federal Inspection for August 28^th, average live weights are currently at 280 pounds, one pound down from the respective period for 2020 and 9 pounds below the weights from the start of June 2021.

Both cattle and hogs markets have witnessed declines in the CME cash price as of late last week. Cattle is at…