“Slaughter is slowly increasing and recently, the difference between the CME hog index and the CME pork index has begun to narrow putting packer margins in a negative light. For cattle, the light kills are hurting packers. At the beginning of 2024, they were able to reduce union pay by cutting hours, now with even a lower slaughter and cattle inventory, it’s up to the packer to reduce their costs,” reported Chris Lehner with ADM Investor Services.