USDA Releases Bearish Quarterly Hog & Pigs Report.

Jun 24, 2016

Farms.com Editorial Team

USDA Released the Quarterly Hog and Pigs Report.

US inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1, 2016 was 68.4 million head. This was up 2% from June 1, 2015, and up 1% from March 1, 2016. This is the highest June 1 inventory of all hogs and pigs since estimates began in 1964.

Breeding inventory, at 5.98 million head, was up 1% from last year, but down slightly from the previous quarter.

Market hog inventory, at 62.4 million head, was up 2% from last year, and up 1% from last quarter. This is the highest June 1 market hog inventory since estimates began in 1964

The March-May 2016 pig crop, at 30.3 million head, was up 3% from 2015. This is the largest March-May pig crop since 1971. Sows farrowed during this period totaled 2.90 million head, up 1% from 2015. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 48% of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was a record high 10.48 for the March-May period, compared to 10.37 last year. Pigs saved per litter by size of operation ranged from 8.10 for operations with 1-99 hogs and pigs to 10.50 for operations with more than 5,000 hogs and pigs.

US hog producers intend to have 2.95 million sows farrow during the June-August 2016 quarter, down 2% from the actual farrowings during the same period in 2015, and down 1% from 2014. Intended farrowings for September-November 2016, at 2.90 million sows, are down 1% from 2015, and down 3% from 2014.

The total number of hogs under contract owned by operations with over 5,000 head, but raised by contractees, accounted for 47% of the total US hog inventory, up from 46% last year.

For more information you can find the full USDA report.

http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/HogsPigs/HogsPigs-06-24-2016.pdf

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