when I punched the afternoon numbers into my model, it projected that the Purchase Index for today is going to be down another -$0.60 and the component on the 11/18/15 kill will drop between -0.50 and -0.80. There is generally some shifting in the numbers when the morning reports come out, but the probability of ANY firmness is quite slim. I just don't know when this down-draft is going to end. It appears like a good idea for your producers to keep their hedges in place.

What a difference a year can make in the price of hogs. One year ago we had the ZZZs priced at 91.55. That's a 40.6% collapse in the price! I hope there are a few lucky hedgers riding the ZZZs down from the 72.40 settle on 1/15/15.

Best wishes,

dhm