United States Hog Inventory Down 4%

Sep 27, 2021

As of Sept. 1, there were 75.4 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, down 4% from September 2020 but up 1% from June 1, 2021, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Hogs and Pigs report

Other key findings in the report were:

Of the 75.4 million hogs and pigs, 69.2 million were market hogs, while 6.19 million were kept for breeding.
Between June and August 2021, 33.9 million pigs were weaned on U.S. farms, down 6% from the same time period one year earlier.
From June through August 2021, U.S. hog and pig producers weaned an average of 11.13 pigs per litter.
U.S. hog producers intend to have 3.00 million sows farrow between September and November 2021, and 2.96 million sows farrow between December and February 2022.
Iowa hog producers accounted for the largest inventory among the states, at 24.4 million head. Minnesota had the second largest inventory at 9.00 million head. North Carolina was third with 8.30 million head.

Source : usda.gov

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.