Looking at hog sales in November 2019 using December 2019 futures the weaner breakeven was $83.27, down $2.03 for the week. Feed costs were down $2.03 per head. December futures decreased $2.00 compared to last week’s December futures used for the crush and historical basis is unchanged from last week. Breakeven prices are based on closing futures prices on May 10, 2019. The breakeven price is the estimated maximum you could pay for a weaner pig and breakeven when selling the finished hog.
Note that the weaner pig profitability calculations provide weekly insight into the relative value of pigs based on assumptions that may not be reflective of your individual situation. In addition, these calculations do not consider market supply and demand dynamics for weaner pigs and space availability.
From the National Direct Delivered Feeder Pig Report
Cash traded weaner pig volume was below average this week with 37,400 head being reported which is 94 percent of the 52-week average. Cash prices were $57.85, down $5.31 from a week ago. The low to high range was $43.00 – $67.00. Formula priced weaners were up $0.61 this week at $52.89.
Cash traded feeder pig reported volume was below average with 5,750 head reported. Cash feeder pig reported prices were $89.74, down $0.80 per head from last week.
Graph 1 shows the seasonal trends of the cash weaner pig market.