By Curt Thacker
   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


  KANSAS CITY (Dow Jones)--The average weight for slaughter hogs in
Iowa/southern Minnesota continues to move up, widening the spread from a year
ago in a period when hogs normally are at or near their lightest of the year.

  Unusually mild temperatures across the Midwest throughout most of July have
aided hog performance and feed intake, resulting in excellent weight gains for
this time of the year. Normally, hot summertime temperatures cause hogs to eat
less and spend more time lying around in an effort to stay cool, resulting in
slowed weight gains.

  The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the average live weight for
barrows and gilts in Iowa/southern Minnesota last week at 266.3 pounds, up 0.1
pound from the previous week and 7.0 pounds above the year-ago figure.
Iowa/southern Minnesota is the largest hog-producing region in the country.

  Temperatures have remained mild across the region through midweek and are
expected to remain that way over the next 15 days, according to the National
Weather Service. Daytime highs in the low to mid 80s degrees Fahrenheit and
nighttime lows in the low to mid 60s are expected for central Iowa through
mid-August.

  Avoiding temperatures in the high 80s to 90s will keep hogs gaining well,
because the barns won't heat up enough to make the animals uncomfortable,
analysts and livestock dealers said.

  Last year, in late July and early August, hot temperatures along with
extremely high feed costs resulted in lower hog weights. The USDA reported the
average for the final week of July at 257.4 pounds and the first full week of
August at 257.4 pounds. The latter was the low of the year.

  If hogs continue to perform well and producers don't pull enough animals
ahead to reduce the average, the year-on-year spread could widen to nearly 9.0
pounds within two weeks. That would put about 6.75 more pounds of edible pork
per head slaughtered on the market. At a weekly slaughter of 2.1 million head,
the increase in total pork production would be around 14.2 million pounds. The
increase alone would be the equivalent of nearly 71,000 more hogs.

  Analysts said the hog and pork markets have struggled throughout the spring
and summer because of the economic crisis and consumer reaction in some
countries to outbreaks of the H1N1 influenza. Adding even more pork to the
already troubled market only makes matters worse for prices and producers.

  Lean hog futures prices have fallen sharply in the past two weeks, and
heavier weights have been part of the problem, analysts said. Nearby August
lean hogs at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have declined about 950 points, or
nearly 15%, since mid-July. August hit another new contract-low in early
trading Wednesday at 56 cents a pound.

  The contract high for August hogs was 96 cents, hit on July 3, 2008.