The current livestock outlook is especially gloomy this year. Hog pries are the lowest in several years with no major price increases through the end of the year. Cattle producers have also seen losses in 1998. A brief summary of the market outlook for both industries is included. Updates to this information can be found bimonthly at http://www.econ.iastate.edu/outreachlagriculture/periodicals/ifo/.Hogs Hog prices at country points dropped below $20 during the last week of October. The weekly average price was $22.95/cwt, the lowest weekly price since April 1972 when prices averaged $22.28. Actual take-home prices are higher than reported due to lean premiums and the low base price reported, but still well below cost of production.Slaughter totaled 2.08 million head for the week and is expected to be near the available packer capacity. The supply will continue to test the capacity limits for the next month or more. Packers may be able to run additional overtime or operate a Sunday shift to process the large number of hogs. While the additional processing will reduce the backlog of heavy hogs that may occur, the packer will have to be rewarded for running the extra overtime and prices may not improve.
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