WASHINGTON — As of March 1, there were 72.9 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, up 3 percent from March 2017, but down 1 percent from Dec. 1, 2017, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
Of the 79.2 million hogs and pigs, 66.7 million were market hogs, while 6.20 million were kept for breeding. Between December 2017 and February 2018, 32.3 million pigs were weaned on U.S. farms, up 4 percent from the same time period one year earlier.
From December 2017 and February 2018, U.S. hog and pig producers weaned an average of 10.58 pigs per litter. U.S. hog producers intend to have 3.08 million sows farrow between March 2018 and May 2018, and 3.16 million sows farrow between June 2018 and August 2018.
State inventory
Iowa hog producers accounted for the largest inventory among the states, at 22.6 million head. North Carolina and Minnesota had the second and third largest inventories with 8.90 million and 8.50 million head, respectively.
NASS surveyed more than 6,500 operators across the nation during the first half of March. All surveyed producers were asked to report their hog and pig inventories as of March 1, 2018.
