Source: Susan Kelly, MEATINGPLACE, 9/28/18


The U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on Sept. 1 was 75.5 million head, up 3 percent from a year ago and from June 1, USDA said in its latest quarterly hogs and pigs report.

Breeding inventory, at 6.33 million head, was up 3 percent from last year, and up slightly from the previous quarter. Market hog inventory, at 69.2 million head, was up 3 percent from last year, and up 4 percent from last quarter.

Analysts on average had expected a 3.4 percent increase in all hogs and pigs, a 3.1 percent rise in the breeding herd and a 3.5 percent rise in the market hog inventory, compared with a year ago, according to the Daily Livestock Report (DLR).

The market hog inventory represents hogs that should come to market through the end of this year and in early 2019, the DLR noted. “Hog slaughter was record large last October (it was surpassed in August) and we expect to see new record production levels next month,” the DLR said.

The June-August 2018 pig crop, at 34.2 million head, was up 3 percent from 2017, USDA said. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 3.19 million head, up 3 percent from 2017. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 50 percent of the breeding herd.

U.S. hog producers intend to have 3.16 million sows farrow during the September-November 2018 quarter, up 2 percent from the actual farrowings during the same period in 2017, and up 4 percent from 2016. Intended farrowings for December-February 2019, at 3.12 million sows, are up 2 percent from 2018 and up 4 percent from 2017.

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