Farms.com Home   News

U.S. & Canadian Hog Inventory Up Slightly

USDA Report Released.

United States and Canadian inventory of all hogs and pigs for June 2013 was 79.6 million head. This was up slightly from June 2012, and up 2 percent from June 2011. The breeding inventory, at 7.10 million head, was up slightly from a year ago and up 1 percent from 2011. Market hog inventory, at 72.5 million head, was up slightly from last year and up 2 percent from 2011. The semi- annual pig crop, at 73.1 million head, was up slightly from 2012 and up 3 percent from 2011. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 7.08 million head, down 1 percent from last year and down 1 percent from 2011.

United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1, 2013 was 66.6 million head. This was down slightly from June 1, 2012 but up 2 percent from March 1, 2013. The breeding inventory, at 5.88 million head, was up slightly from last year and up 1 from the previous quarter. Market hog inventory, at 60.8 million head, was down slightly from last year, but up 2 percent from last quarter. The March-May 2013 pig crop, at 30.1 million head, was up slightly from 2012 and up 3 percent from 2011. Sows farrowed during this period totaled 2.92 million head, down 2 percent from 2012 but up slightly from 2011. 

Canadian inventory of all hogs and pigs on July 1, 2013 was 12.9 million head. This was up 1 percent from July 1, 2012 and up 2 percent from July 1, 2011. The breeding inventory, at 1.22 million head, was up slightly from last year and up 1 percent from 2011. Market hog inventory, at 11.7 million head, was up 1 percent from last year and up 2 percent from 2011. The semi-annual pig crop, at 13.9 million head, was down 2 percent from 2012 and down 1 percent from 2011. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 1.28 million head, down 4 percent from last year and down 6 percent from 2011.

Source: USDA


Trending Video

Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.