USDA Hogs and Pigs Report
US Dec. 1 Hog Inventory Down 2% From Year Ago
This article was originally posted at 2:24 p.m. CST on Friday, Dec. 23. It was last updated with additional information at 2:55 p.m. CST on Friday, Dec. 23.
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OMAHA (DTN) -- United States inventory of all hogs and pigs on Dec. 1, 2022, was 73.1 million head. This was down 2% from Dec. 1, 2021, and down 1% from Sept. 1, 2022, USDA NASS reported on Friday.
Breeding inventory, at 6.15 million head, was up slightly from last year, and up slightly from the previous quarter.
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Market hog inventory, at 67.0 million head, was down 2% from last year, and down 1% from last quarter.
The September-November 2022 pig crop, at 33.7 million head, was down 1% from 2021. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 3.00 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 11.22 for the September-November period, compared to 11.19 last year.
United States hog producers intend to have 2.95 million sows farrow during the December 2022-February 2023 quarter, up 1% from the actual farrowings during the same period one year earlier, and up 1% from the same period two years earlier. Intended farrowings for March-May 2023, at 2.98 million sows, are up slightly from the same period one year earlier, but down 2% 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 48% of the total United States hog inventory, up 1% from the previous year.
Revisions:
All inventory and pig crop estimates for December 2020 through September 2022 were reviewed using final pig crop, official slaughter, death loss, and updated import and export data. The revision made to the September 2022 all hogs and pigs inventory was 0.2%. A revision of 0.2% was made to the June-August 2022 pig crop. The net revision made to the June 2022 all hogs and pigs inventory was 0.3%. A net revision of 0.8% was made to the March-May 2022 pig crop.
DTN ANALYSIS
"Friday's Hogs and Pigs report largely came out as predicted, with the Dec. 1 inventory being down 2%, and with all weighted divisions of hogs being 2% smaller than a year ago," said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart.
"The report's peculiar piece was the breeding intel. I was surprised to see that the sows kept for farrowing for December through February was steady with a year ago. With the increased pressures of higher feed costs, the uncertainty of California's Prop 12 and the fact that China's herd is rebounding led me to assume that fewer sows would have been kept. This isn't overbearing for the market, however, as it was a minute change and given that the market hog data shared lighter inventory for all the weights when compared to a year ago."
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To view the full Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, visit https://www.nass.usda.gov/…
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 as percent of 2021 | 2023 as percent of 2022 | |
| (1,000 head) | (1,000 head) | (%) | |||
| All Hogs Dec. 1 | 74,446 | 73,119 | 98% | ||
| Kept for Breeding | 6,125 | 6,154 | 100% | ||
| Kept for Marketing | 68,321 | 66,966 | 98% | ||
| WEIGHT BREAKDOWN | |||||
| Under 50 lbs. | 21,594 | 21,153 | 98% | ||
| 50-119 lbs. | 19,005 | 18,620 | 98% | ||
| 120-179 lbs. | 14,374 | 14,095 | 98% | ||
| 180 lbs. and over | 13,348 | 13,098 | 98% | ||
| FARROWINGS/INTENTIONS* | |||||
| Sep-Nov | 3,049 | 3,004 | 99% | ||
| Dec-Feb* | 2,929 | 2,919 | 2,947 | 100% | 101% |
| Mar-May* | 3,034 | 2,967 | 2,981 | 98% | 100% |
| Sep-Nov Pig Crop | 34,123 | 33,691 | 99% | ||
| (number) | (number) | (%) | |||
| Sep-Nov Pigs Per Litter | 11.19 | 11.22 | 100% | ||
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