The number of new cases of PED virus continues to climb. Each of the last 5 weeks increased the number of farms with the disease by more than 250. As of February 23, the total number of infected swine farms was 4,106. (There is an uncertain amount of double counting in this data.)
Statistics Canada reported the January 1 inventory of hogs and pigs in Canada was up 1.1% from a year ago. Their breeding herd inventory up 0.3% and their inventory of market hogs was up 1.1%. The Canadian swine herd is roughly one-fifth the size of the U.S. herd.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says non-farm payroll increased by 175,000 jobs in February. That is a good sign for the economy and for meat demand.
Hog slaughter this week totaled 2.052 million head, down 4.8% from the week before and down 6.6% compared to the same week last year. This is the first week with pork production below the year-ago level since the week ending January 11.
The average live weight of barrows and gilts in Iowa-Minnesota last week was 281.8 pounds, down 0.4 pound from a week earlier, but up 5.7 pounds from a year ago.
Corn futures rallied this week to bring the nearby contract to the highest price since September. March corn futures ended the week at $4.81/bushel, up 23 cents from the week before. May corn settled at $4.89/bushel. The July corn futures contract ended the week at $4.93/bushel.
March soybean meal ended the week at $465/ton, down $2.90 for the week. May meal futures closed at $457.80/ton.
Source: AGEBB