CHICAGO – Hog slaughter reached record highs in August as farmers moved to thin herds and control surging feed costs, according to Reuters.

Revised daily slaughter data showed 9.857 million head were slaughtered in August, the highest amount for that month and the most since 9.868 million in December 2011, according to Reuters.

Slaughter rates and pork production indicate the impact of the worst drought in 50 years. Hog producers are selling hogs quickly in order to limit the number of mouths to feed later in the year. In many cases, farmers are losing money on the hogs they're selling in order to avoid steeper losses.

Rising hog slaughter rates and production in the present point to tighter supplies and higher prices by 2013, according to news reports. In the meantime, analysts said prices will remain weak as producers flood the market with supplies of hogs and pork.