United States Hog Inventory Up 2 Percent
From USDA
United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on December 1, 2017 was 73.2 million head. This was up 2 percent from December 1, 2016, but down slightly from September 1, 2017.
Breeding inventory, at 6.18 million head, was up 1 percent from last year, and up 1 percent from the previous quarter.
Market hog inventory, at 67.1 million head, was up 2 percent from last year, but down slightly from last quarter.
The September-November 2017 pig crop, at 33.4 million head, was up 3 percent from 2016. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 3.11 million head, up 2 percent from 2016. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 51 percent of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was a record high of 10.74 for the September-November period, compared to 10.63 last year. Pigs saved per litter by size of operation ranged from 7.90 for operations with 1-99 hogs and pigs to 10.80 for operations with more than 5,000 hogs and pigs.
United States hog producers intend to have 3.07 million sows farrow during the December-February 2018 quarter, up 3 percent from the actual farrowings during the same period in 2017, and up 5 percent from 2016. Intended farrowings for March-May 2018, at 3.08 million sows, are up 2 percent from 2017, and up 4 percent from 2016. The total number of hogs under contract owned by operations with over 5,000 head, but raised by contractees, accounted for 47 percent of the total United States hog inventory, unchanged from the previous year.
To see the full USDA Hogs and Pigs report visit
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/HogsPigs/HogsPigs-12-22-2017.pdf