United States hog inventory up slightly

Oct 02, 2023

As of Sept. 1, there were 74.3 million hogs and pigs on U.S. farms, up slightly from September 2022 and up 2% from June 1, 2023, 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 74.3 million hogs and pigs, 68.2 million were market hogs, while 6.08 million were kept for breeding.
Between June 2023 and August 2023, 34.2 million pigs were weaned on U.S. farms, up slightly from one year earlier.
From June 2023 through August 2023, U.S. hog and pig producers weaned an average of 11.61 pigs per litter.

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Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.