Demand for pork at the consumer level for January-May was up 1.5 per cent from 12 months earlier. Demand for both beef and broilers was down for this period compared to a year earlier. Beef was down 0.9 per cent and broilers were down 5.3 per cent.

Demand for live hogs for January-May was down nearly five per cent. The weaker demand for live hogs was due to smaller exports of pork and wider marketing margins.

The US per capita expenditure on pork for January-May at $28.29 deflated was up from $27.56 per capita in 2008. In current dollars, the January-May 2009 expenditure was $60.16, up from $58.84 a year earlier.

The average weight of barrows and gilts was down 1.9 pounds from a week earlier but up 3.6 pounds from a year earlier in Iowa-Minnesota. Barrow and gilt carcass weights under Federal Inspection for the four weeks ending June 27 averaged 4.25 pounds heavier than for the same weeks in 2008. For the week ending June 27, barrow and gilt carcass weights were three pounds per head above a year earlier.

Early weaned and all feeder pigs were steady to firm last week nationally. The price for ten-pound-basis pigs, 50-54 per cent lean averaged $28.31. 40-pound-basis pigs average price was $21.54 per head. The formula price for the ten-pound basis pigs was $33.76 per head. The formula price for the 40-pound-basis pigs was $46.55 per head. The cash or negotiated price for ten pound pigs was $11.26 per head and the cash price for the 40-pound pigs was $20.36 per head.

The cash or negotiated live price Friday morning for barrows and gilts was steady to $1.00 per cwt higher compared to last Friday. The weighted average negotiated carcass price Friday morning was $3.89 lower to $2.22 per cwt higher compared to seven days earlier.

The live prices for select markets Friday morning were: Peoria $35 per cwt, Zumbrota, Minnesota, $38 per cwt and interior Missouri $41 per cwt. The weighted average negotiated carcass prices by area Friday morning were: western Cornbelt $55.84 per cwt, eastern Cornbelt $55.12 per cwt, Iowa-Minnesota $55.84 per cwt and nation $55.25 per cwt.

The cutout per cwt of carcass Thursday afternoon at $57.93 per cwt was up $4.16 per cwt from a week earlier. Loins at $70.07 per cwt were down $1.07 per cwt, Boston butts at $62.23 per cwt were down $1.84 per cwt, hams at $49.35 per cwt were up $14.13 per cwt and bellies at $71.39 per cwt were up $9.51 per cwt from seven days earlier.

Slaughter this week under Federal Inspection was estimated at 1957 thousand head, down 9.3 per cent from a year earlier.