United States Hog Inventory Up Slightly

Mar 31, 2023

As of March 1, there were 72.9 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, up slightly from March 2022 but down 2% from Dec. 1, 2022, according to the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

livestock

Other key findings in the report were:

Of the 72.9 million hogs and pigs, 66.7 million were market hogs, while 6.13 million were kept for breeding.
Between December 2022 and February 2023, 32.1 million pigs were weaned on U.S. farms, up slightly from the same time period one year earlier.
From December 2022 through February 2023, U.S. hog and pig producers weaned an average of 11.02 pigs per litter.
U.S. hog producers intend to have 2.93 million sows farrow between March and May 2023, and 2.97 million sows farrow between June and August 2023.
Iowa hog producers accounted for the largest inventory among the states, at 23.4 million head. Minnesota had the second largest inventory at 8.90 million head. North Carolina was third with 8.00 million head.

To obtain an accurate measurement of the U.S. swine industry, NASS surveyed roughly 4,500 operators across the nation during the first half of March. The data collected were received by electronic data recording, mail, telephone and through face-to-face interviews.

There will be a question-and-answer session during a live #StatChat on the @usda_nass Twitter account today at 4:00 p.m. EDT to answer your questions about the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. To ask a question, make sure you include the #StatChat to any questions you may have. The #statchat happens every quarter after the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report is released.

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.