Historically, small or medium-sized farms produced the majority of the annual pig crop. But in the space of two decades, three at the most, the hog industry was transformed into a sector dominated by large farms with at least 5,000 head apiece, says the USDA’s Overview of the U.S. Hog Industry report, issued for the first time since 2009. Some 68 percent of the U.S. herd is held by a comparatively small number of big operators–only 5 percent of hog farms hold 5,000 head or more.
Until the mid-1990s, small farms produced as many pigs as large operators. The proportions changed quickly. In 1994, the large farms accounted for 27 percent of the pig crop, leaping to 88 percent in 2008 and continuing to climb to 93 percent in 2014. Large farms are more productive in terms of weaning more piglets per litter, 9.97, than the 9.41 weaned on smaller farms. With sows producing more piglets per litter, fewer sows and boars are needed for breeding stock, says the report.
As usual, Iowa is the top hog state, with more than a third of the hogs and pigs in the country, followed by North Carolina with 13 percent, Minnesota with 12 percent, Illinois with 7 percent and Indiana with 5.5 percent. Gross income for U.S. hog producers was estimated at $26.5 billion in 2014, up by $10 billion from 2008. Livestock sold for record average prices last year due to high demand and small supplies.