The U.S. inventory of hogs and pigs is up 9 percent from last June 1, and slightly larger than on March 1, the USDA said in a quarterly report that showed a dynamic rebound from the effects of the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus that killed millions of piglets in 2014. The loss of piglets, along with strong demand for meat, helped propel U.S. meat prices to record levels last year and encouraged hog producers to expand their herds.
In its Hogs and Pigs report, the USDA said there were 66.9 million head on U.S. farms on June 1. The inventory of 61 million market hogs being fed for slaughter also was up 9 percent from a year ago, while the breeding hog inventory was up 1 percent. Some 2.85 million sows gave birth during the three months of March, April and May. In a survey by the USDA, producers said they intended to farrow 2.91 million sows during June, July and August, and another 2.87 million during September, October and November.
The June-August farrrowings would be down 3 percent from the same period in 2014 and the September-November farrowings would be down by 4 percent – potentially signs that the expansionary period is ending. The forecast market price for slaughter hogs is down sharply for this year compared to last – around $50 per 100 pound vs $76.03 during 2014. The June 1 hog inventory was 1 percentage point larger than analysts expected and farrowing intentions were smaller than market expectations.
Iowa is the largest hog-producing state with a total of 21 million head, or nearly one-third of the U.S. total. Minnesota and North Carolina are virtually tied for second place, with 8.05 million and 8 million respectively.