USDA Hogs and Pigs Report

By DTN Staff

This article was originally posted at 2:18 p.m. CDT on Thursday, Sept. 29. It was last updated with additional information at 2:38 p.m. CDT on Thursday, Sept. 29.

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OMAHA (DTN) -- United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on Sept. 1, 2022, was 73.8 million head. This was down 1% from Sept. 1, 2021, but up 2% from June 1, 2022, USDA NASS reported on Thursday.

Breeding inventory, at 6.15 million head, was down 1% from last year, and down slightly from the previous quarter.

Market hog inventory, at 67.6 million head, was down 1% from last year, but up 2% from last quarter.

The June-August 2022 pig crop, at 33.6 million head, was down 1% from 2021. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 3.02 million head, down 1% from 2021. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 49% of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was 11.13 for the June-August period, unchanged from last year.

United States hog producers intend to have 2.97 million sows farrow during the September-November 2022 quarter, down 2% from the actual farrowings during the same period one year earlier, and down 6% from the same period two years earlier. Intended farrowings for December 2022-February 2023, at 2.90 million sows, are down 1% from the same period one year earlier, and down 1% from the same period two years earlier.

The total number of hogs under contract owned by operations with over 5,000 head, but raised by contractees, accounted for 50% of the total United States hog inventory, up 1% from the previous year.

Revisions

All inventory and pig crop estimates for September 2021 through June 2022 were reviewed using final pig crop, official slaughter, death loss, and updated import and export data. The revision made to the March 2022-May 2022 pig crop was 0.1%. A net revision of 0.7% was made to the March 2022 all hogs and pigs inventory. The net revision made to the December 2021-February 2022 pig crop was 0.6%.

DTN ANALYSIS

"Thursday's Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report came out rather supportive to the lean hog complex given that all data entries came in lighter than year-ago figures," said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart.

"The U.S. hog and pig inventory for Sept. 1 totaled 73.8 million head, which was 1% lighter than a year ago, but significantly lighter than the anticipated 74.3 million head that analysts predicted ahead of the report's release.

"For the weight breakdown of hogs to be marketed in the future, it was also comforting for producers to see that hogs weighing under 50 pounds and those weighing 50 to 119 pounds, came in 2% lighter than a year ago; and then the upper two divisions of hogs weighing 120 to 179 pounds and those weighing 180 pounds or more came in 1% lighter than a year ago. Even though hog carcass weights have recently increased, fewer hogs in the supply chain will help alleviate some marketing pressure.

"The lean hog market has endured severe pressure over the last seven days -- largely being fueled by immense outside pressures from our weakened economy. But given the combination of Thursday's strong export report and bullish Hogs and Pigs report, the market may be able to scale higher upon these favorable findings."

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To view the full Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, visit https://www.nass.usda.gov/…

	2021	2022	2023	2022 aspercentof 2021	2023 as percent of 2022
	(1,000 head)	(1,000 head)		(%)
All Hogs Sept. 1	74,867	73,800		99%
Kept for Breeding	6,190	6,152		99%
Kept for Marketing	68,677	67,648		99%
	WEIGHT BREAKDOWN
Under 50 lbs.	21,690	21,343		98%
50-119 lbs.	20,211	19,887		98%
120-179 lbs.	14,246	14,073		99%
180 lbs. and over	12,529	12,345		99%
	FARROWINGS/INTENTIONS*
Jun-Aug	3,050	3,018		99%
Sep-Nov*	3,049	2,973		98%
Dec-Feb*	2,929	2,919	2,902	100%	99%
Jun-Aug Pig Crop	33,944	33,581		99%
	(number)	(number)		(%)
Jun-Aug Pigs Per Litter	11.13	11.13		100%

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