Two years after Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea killed 7 million piglets and drove up pork prices, hog farmers have rebuilt their herds. The quarterly Hogs and Pigs report says there are a record 68.3 million hogs on the farm, “the highest inventory of all hogs and pigs since quarterly U.S. estimates began in 1988.” The hog census counted 62.3 million head being fed for slaughter, also the highest quarterly total since 1988.
Farmers are slowing down herd expansion in the face of softening hog prices. They say fewer sows will give birth from December through February than same period a year earlier. The fall pig crop, at 30.3 million head, was 1 percent smaller than fall 2014.