It has been a better-than-usual fall

Pork cutout value has been remarkably strong this fall. Over the last eight weeks, cutout has averaged $97.46/cwt. That is $8.62 higher than the same weeks last year. Two of the eight weeks were above $100/cwt. This strength in cutout has not been fully reflected in hog prices, but hog prices have been strong enough to boost profits.Calculations by economists at Iowa State University put October profits for typical Iowa farrow-to-finish operations at $9.30 per hog sold. That was $27.82 better th