1/6/17 WAS UP +$1.11 and the model project that the component on Friday's kill will move up between +0.30 and +0.60.

For some reason packers were really wanting hogs on Friday and they were willing to pay-up to get them.

And they got them - 188.5% of the moving average daily purchases! That's huge!

Packers' margins are good but cutouts dipped a bit on Friday.

I continue to believe packers know the hog market better than the rest of us and there is a lesson to be learned in watching them finish their hogs to significantly higher weights than the non-packers. Perhaps the lesson is merely that the demand for pork is firm and packers are wanting to produce more of it to meet that demand.

I decided to ride five long GGG pigs through the weekend. The pre-opening quotes are NOT saying I made a mistake.

Best wishes,

dhm