Hog farmers “are significantly ramping up pork production,” says Farm Futures, pointing to the 4 percent increase in the breeding inventory in the three months ending on Dec 1 vs the same period in 2013. That is the largest year-on-year increase since the late 1990s, it said. Besides the upturn in breeding stock, the quarterly Hogs and Pigs report from USDA says the U.S. hog inventory, at 66 million head, was up 2 percent from last Dec 1 and the pig crop in September, October and November was 4 percent larger than the same period in 2013.
All three of those figures – total inventory, breeding stock and pig crop – were larger than traders expected. Pork production has been constrained because of piglets lost to the PEDv. Average pigs saved per litter during the September-November quarter was 10.23, a record number, said USDA.
The upturn in the hog and pig inventory “may reflect a sow herd that has gained some immunity from the killer animal disease” PEDv, said Agri-Pulse, citing comments by experts on a tele-conference arranged by the National Pork Producers Council. PEDv has killed more than 8 million hags since mid-2013, mostly piglets.