WASHINGTON –As of March 1, there were 65.9 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, up 7 percent from March 2014, but down slightly from December 1, 2014, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
Click to view full Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Inventory chart
Other key findings in the report were:
- Of the 65.9 million hogs and pigs, 60.0 million were market hogs, while 5.98 million were kept for breeding.
- Between December 2014 and February 2015, 28.8 million pigs were weaned on U.S. farms, up 9 percent from the same time period one year earlier.
- From December 2014 through February 2015, U.S. hog and pig producers weaned an average of 10.17 pigs per litter.
- U.S. hog producers intend to have 2.87 million sows farrow between March and May 2015, and 2.93 million sows farrow between June and August 2015.
- Iowa hog producers accounted for the largest inventory among the states, at 20.4 million head. North Carolina and Minnesota had the second and third largest inventories with 8.40 million and 7.85 million head, respectively.
To obtain an accurate measurement of the U.S. swine industry, NASS surveyed more than 8,100 operators across the nation during the first half of March. Data were collected by mail, telephone and through face-to-face interviews. All surveyed producers were asked to report their hog and pig inventories as of March 1, 2015.
The Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report and all other NASS reports are available online att www.nass.usda.gov.
