WASHINGTON, December 23, 2014 – As of December 1, there were 66.1 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, up 2 percent from December 2013, and up 1 percent from September 1, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
Other key findings in the report were:
• Of the 66.1 million hogs and pigs, 60.1 million were market hogs, while 5.97 million were kept for breeding.
• Between September and November 2014, 29.4 million pigs were weaned on U.S. farms, up 4 percent from the same time period in 2013.
• From September through November 2014, U.S. hog and pig producers weaned an average of 10.23 pigs per litter.
• U.S. hog producers intend to have 2.87 million sows farrow between December 2014 and February 2015, and 2.90 million sows farrow between March and May 2015.
• With 20.9 million head, Iowa hog producers had the largest inventory among the states. North Carolina and Minnesota had the second and third largest inventories with 8.60 million and 7.85 million head, respectively.
To obtain an accurate measurement of the current state of the U.S. hogs and pigs industry, NASS surveyed over 10,900 operators across the nation during the first half of December. NASS collected the data by mail, telephone and through face-to-face personal interviews. NASS asked all participating producers to report their hogs and pigs inventories as of December 1, 2014.
The quarterly Hogs and Pigs report and all other NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.
Contact: Dan Kerestes, (202) 720-3570 or Alex Minchenkov, (202) 690-8121
