Recent precipitation from Hurricane Polo remnants has eased severe drought across parts of the Southern Plains, a region with notable hog operations, while conditions worsened in the Lower Mississippi basin and some Midwest fringes. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor (valid through early October) shows 46% of the contiguous U.S. in drought, with 55% of the Lower 48 affected, though swine-dense states like Iowa and Illinois experienced limited net change. Upcoming USDM updates for mid-October will hinge on soil moisture trends, short-term rainfall forecasts, and any flash-drought development amid variable fall patterns. These regional shifts create uncertainty around the exact share of the national hog inventory overlapping D1–D4 areas, keeping market-implied probabilities balanced across the listed ranges.