Quarterly Hogs and Pigs
Released December 23, 2011, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA).
United States Hog Inventory up 2 Percent
United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on December 1, 2011 was 65.9 million head. This was up 2 percent from December 1, 2010, but down 1 percent from September 1, 2011.
Breeding inventory, at 5.80 million head, was up slightly from last year, but down slightly from the previous quarter. Market hog inventory, at 60.1 million head, was up 2 percent from last year, but down 1 percent from last quarter.
The September-November 2011 pig crop, at 29.0 million head, was up 2 percent from 2010. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 2.89 million head, up slightly from 2010. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 50 percent of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was a record high 10.02 for the September-November period, compared to 9.89 last year. Pigs saved per litter by size of operation ranged from 7.40 for operations with 1-99 hogs and pigs to 10.10 for operations with more than 5,000 hogs and pigs.
The total number of hogs under contract owned by operations with over 5,000
head, but raised by contractees, accounted for 46 percent of the total United
States hog inventory, up from 43 percent last year.
This report was approved on December 23, 2011, 2011.